Criminal Gangs Looted IDF Weapons and Munitions During War, Report Claims

Organized crime groups in Israel are increasingly using military-grade weapons and ammunition, including LAW anti-tank rockets and fragmentation grenades, according to an investigation by Kan news. The trend, coupled with falling prices for weapons on the black market, suggests significant theft from IDF reserve depots after they were opened during the recent conflict. The Israeli military may not be fully aware of the extent of the missing weaponry, as ammunition can be easily written off as expended in combat, the report's author, Roi Yanovsky, noted.

In the past week alone, two instances of organized crime using LAW rockets were recorded in Sakhnin and Jaljulia. Another alarming development is the use of drones to drop munitions. In Nazareth this week, a fragmentation grenade was dropped from a drone, and such incidents are becoming more frequent. The number of criminal incidents involving fragmentation grenades surged from 75 in 2023 to 988 in 2024, averaging nearly three per day. The report warns that the widespread availability of these weapons to criminal groups could soon extend to terrorist activities, including drone-borne explosives, mirroring tactics seen in active combat zones.