The indictments on Wednesday were filed against brothers Eliran Elgrably, 38, of Kiryat Gat and Avi Elgrably, 41, of Kiryat Ata; Imad al-Din Abu Mukh, 55, of Baqa al-Gharbiya; Ofer Sankar, 41; Yosef Yochananov, 39, Yuri Yakubov, 42, Menachem Abutbul, 39, and Nadav Halfon, 30, all of Kiryat Gat; Meir Levi, 26, of Beitar Illit; Oshri Dahan, 39, of Talmei Eliyahu; Yaron Peretz, 52, of Noam; and Attar Even, 37, of Shaked.<\/p>\n
The defendants acted \u201cto smuggle prohibited goods into the Strip in a systematic and sophisticated manner, exploiting vulnerabilities at crossing points and military activity in the area, while presenting false representations of entry into the Strip as part of legitimate security activity,\u201d the court said Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Throughout August and September 2025, the defendants smuggled 26 cases of cigarettes into Gaza for a total of NIS 3.9 million, the court said, just one of many illegal deliveries. In total, the Elgrably brothers made at least NIS 6.8 million from their smuggling efforts, while Abu Mukh received at least NIS 3 million in profits, the court said.<\/p>\n
\t In total, the court detailed 15 smuggling attempts, most of which were successful, between August and December 2025, involving mostly cigarettes but also hundreds of iPhones and medical equipment.<\/p>\n On December 19, 2025, the court said that an attempted smuggling effort of batteries, cellphones, stovetops, gas burners and cigarettes was thwarted by IDF troops who stopped the vehicle inside Gaza with Yakubov, Dahan, Yochananov and Levi, all in IDF uniform. The four were arrested that day, as were the Elgrably brothers and Peretz, their business partner.<\/p>\n The court said Wednesday that at one point, Abutbul offered bribes to Zini and his comrade, Aviel Ben David \u2014 who were serving together in reserve duty in Gaza \u2014 to take part in the operation.<\/p>\n \t According to the court, Zini was the commander of a team within the IDF\u2019s Gaza Division that operated heavy engineering equipment in the Strip. Due to his role, Zini was authorized to bring convoys of equipment into the Strip.<\/p>\n Both Zini and Ben David accepted NIS 15,000 each to take part in the smuggling, the court said. Abutbul allegedly transferred the goods in question into Zini\u2019s vehicle near Kibbutz Sufa and Zini and Ben David drove into Gaza and unloaded the goods there, the court said.<\/p>\n The Shin Bet said Wednesday that throughout the war, \u201cand even more so since the beginning of the ceasefire,\u201d Hamas has been working to rebuild its capabilities and strengthen its governance in the Strip, using money from smuggled goods.<\/p>\n Israel has banned the entry of cigarettes and other tobacco products into Gaza during the war, with officials saying that such products, when smuggled illegally, are sold for high prices on the black market and heavily taxed by Hamas.<\/p>\n Prosecutors said that \u201ca major illicit commodity smuggled into the Strip is tobacco and cigarettes, which have brought Hamas a total of hundreds of millions of shekels into its pockets since the beginning of the war, helping it, among other things, maintain its economic survival and its grip on the territory.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSmuggling constitutes a significant threat to the security of the State of Israel, as it assists Hamas\u2019s survival and governance,\u201d the Shin Bet said. \u201cIt also poses a threat stemming from the possibility of using smuggling routes as a platform to advance offensive military activity in Israel and against our forces in the Gaza Strip.\u201d<\/p>\n Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tA Palestinian man sells cigarettes at a market in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, October 18, 2025. (Bashar TALEB \/ AFP)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/9988-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tBezalel Zini, brother of Shin Bet chief David Zini, is suspected of being part of a Gaza smuggling ring and is set to be indicted soon. (Facebook, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)<\/p>\n
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