Amid the expanded entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, several recent cases have emerged in which aid truck drivers entering Israel or operating along the Gaza border were found to be involved in terrorism.
According to a report by Doron Kadosh on Galei Tzahal, some of the drivers were arrested by the IDF and the Shin Bet, and are currently under investigation. In some cases, suspicions also arose regarding their involvement in the hostages' abductions.
One aid truck driver was arrested near Kerem Shalom after it was discovered that his son was a terrorist involved in the abduction of Israelis on October 7. Another driver was arrested in the Kerem Shalom area at a location where he was not authorized to be. He claimed he had “gotten lost,” but the investigation revealed that he was an terrorist affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terror group and had previously been released as part of one of the hostage deals during the current war. A third driver was identified by security services as a Hamas operative.
A security source noted that there are additional drivers suspected of terrorist involvement, with some identified as members of Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad, though not all have been arrested or investigated.
The defense establishment stressed that all humanitarian aid truck drivers undergo security clearance and that their entry into Israel is approved by the Shin Bet. However, there is concern that some could exploit access to Israeli territory or proximity to IDF forces to carry out terror attacks.
The Shin Bet stated it does not comment on specific details, while an IDF spokesperson said: “There is nothing preventing the arrest of aid truck drivers when they are found to be affiliated with a terrorist organization. Thus, recently, drivers were arrested after they were found to be affiliated with terror organizations, and this will continue to be the case whenever relevant intelligence information is received.”