Charges filed against Rahat man for smuggling goods into Gaza during war

Two IDF officers are also being investigated for trafficking cartons of cigarettes, along with other items, in move prosecutors say aided Hamas

Prosecutors on Friday filed an indictment against a 34-year-old man from the southern town of Rahat, accusing him of smuggling goods into the Gaza Strip and aiding the enemy during wartime in exchange for money.

According to the indictment filed in the Beersheba District Court, Nasser Mustafa was charged with aiding the enemy in wartime, handling property for terrorist purposes, obtaining goods by fraud under aggravated circumstances, and bribery.

A military court is separately conducting proceedings against two Israel Defense Forces officers, a lieutenant colonel in the regular army and a major in the reserves, who are suspected of assisting Mustafa. Their names were not permitted for publication.

According to the indictment, Mustafa primarily smuggled cartons of cigarettes, along with other goods.

The alleged offenses took place while the war in Gaza was ongoing and hostages were still being held by Hamas.

Prosecutors alleged that Mustafa acted “with the knowledge that the smuggled goods might reach Hamas or provide it with financial assistance,” thereby contributing to its ability to operate against Israel during wartime.

Attorneys Hila Dreamer-Yair and Elia Fuchs of the Southern District Prosecutor’s Office said controlling goods entering the Gaza Strip is “of central importance” to Hamas, which taxes the shipments they seize to impose their rule and improve their economic capabilities, they added.

He is also accused of misleading security officials and circumventing oversight mechanisms governing the entry of goods into Gaza.

The indictment alleges that between April and June 2025, Mustafa developed ties with the reserve officer, and the two conspired to smuggle goods into Gaza. The reserve officer later included the second officer to join them.

The smuggling operation was carried out “in a systematic and sophisticated manner,” prosecutors said, exploiting the officers’ positions and military activity in the area.

According to the indictment, Mustafa used aid trucks stranded along routes in Gaza as cover. He would arrive under the pretext of repairing the vehicles, remove prohibited goods from their cargo, and enable the trucks to continue to border crossings. The goods were then transported into Gaza and collected by local officials.

The indictment alleges that the smuggling took place on multiple occasions, with Mustafa receiving hundreds of thousands of shekels in cash, some of which was passed on to the IDF officers.

An itemized table attached to the indictment states that the three split 550,000 shekels ($180,444) for smuggling cigarettes in two shipments between July and August. In another instance, they split 280,000 shekels for smuggling cigarettes and iPhones.

In February, state prosecutors filed charges against 15 suspects, among them IDF reservists, accused of taking part in a major smuggling ring that trafficked goods into the Gaza Strip.

The defendants were indicted in the Beersheba District Court for assisting the enemy during wartime, financing terror activity, fraud and bribery for their alleged smuggling of goods into the enclave.

The alleged smuggling ring is linked to Bezalel Zini, the brother of Shin Bet chief David Zini, who is thought to have helped the network’s members smuggle cigarettes, taking advantage of his IDF reserve service in the Gaza Strip.

Zini, an IDF reservist who headed logistics for forces doing demolition work in Gaza, is suspected of abusing his access to the enclave to smuggle 14 crates of cigarettes from Israel into Gaza on three occasions, earning a total of NIS 365,000 ($117,405).