21 Suspects Arrested in Multi-Million Shekel Gaza Corruption Case

Israeli police have uncovered a major corruption case involving the alleged theft of millions of shekels during contracting work for the IDF in the Gaza Strip. The investigation became public on October 20, with a large-scale operation leading to the arrest of 21 suspects. Those detained were taken for questioning by the Lahav 433 special investigations unit. Among the arrested are employees of contracting companies and five career soldiers holding non-commissioned officer ranks. They are suspected of fuel theft, submitting fraudulent invoices, money laundering, and bribery. According to investigators, contractors performing infrastructure work for the army in Gaza stole millions of shekels worth of fuel. They also allegedly billed for work that was never performed or only partially completed. The five soldiers are believed by investigators to have been responsible for liaising between the army and the contractors on the ground. A source involved in the investigation stated that the suspects exploited the "enormous chaos" in Gaza to steal millions of shekels. During recent military operations in Gaza, the IDF utilized civilian companies for heavy engineering tasks, primarily building demolition. The Lahav 433 unit, military police investigators, and the Tax Authority had been conducting a covert investigation into abuses related to this work. Authorities plan to request extensions of the detention for the civilian suspects at the Beersheba Magistrate's Court and for the soldiers at the military court in Beit Lid. In a separate case on April 29, a military prosecutor filed charges against an IDF major for smuggling goods into Gaza, including aiding an enemy, bribery, and aggravated smuggling. This officer is accused of organizing the delivery of goods from Israel to Gaza, along with an Israeli citizen who assisted him. The indictment alleges the officer arranged for a truckload of contraband, including mobile phones, cigarettes, and electronics valued at millions of shekels, to be transported into Gaza on January 10. The officer allegedly used his authority to bypass security checks and misled soldiers and officers by presenting the transport as legitimate operational activity.