Bezalel Zini, the brother of Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) David Zini, was indicted on Thursday along with two other men in a wide-ranging wartime security case in which prosecutors allege that a network of Israeli reservists and civilians smuggled prohibited goods - primarily cigarettes and tobacco - into the Gaza Strip during Israel’s war with Hamas.
According to the indictment filed at the Beersheba District Court, Zini is charged with aiding the enemy during wartime, prohibited dealings in property for terror purposes under the Counter-Terrorism Law, aggravated fraud, and accepting bribes while serving as a public official.
Prosecutors allege that the operation generated millions of shekels in revenue and materially benefited Hamas by strengthening its economic control inside the enclave.
Zini served as a reserve officer and logistics commander in “Team Oria,” an IDF engineering unit operating inside Gaza. Prosecutors allege that he exploited his role, convoy-entry permits, and familiarity with IDF procedures to facilitate repeated, covert entries into Gaza under the guise of legitimate military activity.
According to the indictment, Zini was first approached before August 2025 by one of his subordinates, reservist Aviel Ben David, who proposed smuggling prohibited goods into Gaza in exchange for payment. Zini allegedly agreed, directing that the first transfer take place near Kibbutz Sufa, close to the Gaza border.
Cigarettes smuggled into Gaza by Zini led to millions for Hamas
In the first alleged smuggling operation, Zini and Ben David - both wearing IDF uniforms - entered Gaza through the Sufa crossing after coordinating a convoy number with an operations room. The goods were unloaded at a location described in the indictment as a point through which humanitarian aid trucks pass. Prosecutors say the two later received NIS 30,000 for the operation, which they split evenly.
The indictment attributes at least three completed smuggling operations directly to Zini’s involvement, alleging that he received approximately NIS 365,000 in bribes and profit shares in total.
The indictments describe the affair as a structured, repeat-operation smuggling network built on a “chain” model: supplier or broker, operator, drivers/executors, and Gaza-side pickup.
At the coordination level, a man identified as Menachem (“Meni”) Abutbul is described as an early operator who initiated contact, proposed bribes, and helped coordinate initial runs. Another key figure, referred to throughout the indictments only as “Other A,” is repeatedly cited as a supplier or broker who arranged multiple smuggling attempts.
Prosecutors state that “Other A” has not been fully identified.
At the execution level, several reservists and civilians allegedly carried out the smuggling runs. These include Ben David, described as a reservist in Team Oria and a central driver in multiple operations; Amir Dov Halperin, portrayed as a key civilian organizer and participant; and Nadav Halfon, who allegedly joined later, claiming access to a military Humvee.
Additional civilian participants named in the indictments include Eliran Algarbeli, Avi Algarbeli, and Yaron Peretz, who are alleged to have coordinated with Halperin in later, higher-volume smuggling attempts.
Prosecutors also allege that at least one IDF guard stationed at the Sufa crossing accepted a bribe - in the form of a combat vest - to allow passage without a convoy number, and that Zini later told Ben David of an acquaintance in Unit 8200 who purportedly warned that the network might be exposed and offered to help their details “not appear in the system” in exchange for military equipment.
No individual from Unit 8200 is named in the indictments.
All completed smuggling runs described in the indictments passed through the Sufa crossing, with goods unloaded at the designated point inside Gaza. Prosecutors allege that participants relied on military uniforms, IDF vehicles, convoy numbers, and carefully timed entries - including so-called “armament days,” when military vehicle movement would attract less scrutiny - to evade detection.
Participants were allegedly instructed to place phones in airplane mode, avoid carrying devices during crossings, and refrain from bringing phones on later runs.
While the indictments’ general sections reference multiple categories of prohibited goods, the concrete operations detailed focus overwhelmingly on cigarettes and tobacco, sometimes accompanied by sacks of loose tobacco.
Prosecutors describe cigarettes as a central revenue source for Hamas during the war, alleging that tobacco smuggling has generated hundreds of millions of shekels for the terror organization since October 7, enabling it to tax distribution, inflate prices, pay salaries, and recruit operatives.
The two-defendant indictment involving Halperin and Ben David alleges that criminal proceeds amount to approximately NIS 4.3 million for Halperin and NIS 815,000 for Ben David. In a separate count, prosecutors allege Halperin laundered proceeds by purchasing luxury vehicles, including registering one in his wife’s name.
Later stages of the affair involved higher-volume smuggling attempts linked to a supplier identified as Imad al-Din Abu Mukh, with runs involving approximately 26 cartons of cigarettes and alleged proceeds of NIS 3.9 million, divided among multiple participants. One subsequent attempt was allegedly aborted after participants feared exposure.
The indictments emphasize that Gaza was a closed military zone throughout the relevant period, that unauthorized entry posed grave security risks, and that the defendants acted with awareness that the goods would likely reach Hamas control and could materially aid the enemy during wartime.
In detention requests, prosecutors characterized the affair as “one of the gravest security cases” handled by the Southern District, citing the scale of the smuggling, the wartime conditions, and the alleged abuse of military authority by reservists.
Zini and other defendants remain in custody pending further proceedings. Authorities have stressed that there is no allegation that Shin Bet chief David Zini was aware of or involved in the alleged offenses.
Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.