The scope of a smuggling network operating from within IDF units and funneling goods into the Gaza Strip is coming into sharper focus, as military prosecutors move forward with additional charges. This week, three new indictments were filed against four servicemembers - among them two captains who served as company commanders - over a series of grave security and financial offenses.
The investigation, conducted jointly by the ISA, Military Police, and the Tax Authority, points to an organized bribery operation that generated millions of shekels even as combat forces were active in the field.
According to the indictments, the suspects allegedly ran a systematic smuggling scheme under the cover of their military roles. In one case, a company commander and a sergeant are accused of smuggling roughly 250 cartons of cigarettes into Gaza throughout 2024. Prosecutors say the operation took place several times a week and brought in an estimated 7 million shekels. Both had previously been demoted to the rank of private in 2025 for similar conduct, but new evidence has now led to more severe charges, including assisting the enemy in a coordinated effort.
A separate indictment targets another company commander accused of recruiting a subordinate into a smuggling operation involving cigarettes, a motorcycle, and a mobile phone. He allegedly profited by about one million shekels. Prosecutors further claim he helped extract a civilian who had entered Gaza as part of another smuggling attempt, while staging false appearances and concealing the incident from his superiors.
In a third case, a reservist corporal is charged with carrying out eight separate smuggling operations alongside a subordinate, involving cigarettes and nicotine products. The two are accused of earning approximately 700,000 shekels.