Three Gazans were arrested in the southern city of Rahat after law enforcement discovered stolen military ammunition in their possession, the police and National Security Ministry announced Saturday night.
Law enforcement alleged that the men entered Israel during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attacks, but security sources rejected the claim outright.
“There is no indication that the three invaded Israel on October 7,” security sources told The Times of Israel.
The trio had been in Israel before the war on work permits and remained in the country even after Israeli authorities canceled the entry of all Gazan laborers amid the war with Hamas, according to the officials.
Upon their arrest, they were taken to the Sde Teiman military detention facility for questioning.
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The three received permits to enter Israel in August 2023, according to Rahat Mayor Talal Alkernawi, who said they were arrested on Tuesday.
Alkernawi called the police statement “an attempt to blame and discredit the city [of Rahat]” and implicate Bedouin society in the Hamas attacks. He said the uptick of violent crime in Bedouin society must be dealt with by law enforcement, but insisted that it was not terror-related and should not be painted as such.
File: Palestinian workers enter Israel after crossing from Gaza, on the Israeli side of Erez crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip, March 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
Before the war, some 17,000 Gazans had work permits to enter Israel. The government revoked the laborers’ permits in one fell swoop after October 7, rendering their presence in the country illegal.
The three Gazans were arrested by police detectives and National Guard fighters as part of a sweeping operation to combat surging violent crime among Bedouin citizens in the Negev.
Since the start of the year, 247 people have fallen victim to homicide in the Arab sector — an all-time record.
The operation in the south, dubbed “New Order,” is being spearheaded by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and police chief Danny Levy.
It has frustrated many Bedouin residents and local politicians, who say that police are going over their heads in the fight against crime and conducting indiscriminate, aggressive raids as violent crime continues to claim lives in their locales.
Israeli security forces raid the Bedouin city of Rahat on May 7, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Police, for their part, claimed that the operation has led to a 93% decrease in shooting incidents among Negev Bedouin.
Over the course of the operation, police have arrested more than 300 people for questioning and deported hundreds of Palestinians residing illegally in Israel. Officers have also seized 70 stolen military weapons, an RPG rocket and over 50,000 ammunition rounds, police added.
According to law enforcement, the operation has seen 67 indictments filed for weapons- and violence-related offenses. The State Attorney’s Office has not yet provided its data.
Seven police officers have been injured in the operation.
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