Betzalel Zini, a 50-year-old Israeli army reservist, was indicted on Thursday in connection with a case of smuggling various goods to the Gaza Strip from June 2025, in the midst of the war against Hamas.
Published on: 02/05/2026 - 6:36 p.m. Modified on: 02/05/2026 - 6:36 p.m.
A case that taints Israeli intelligence. The brother of the director of the Israeli Internal Security Agency (Shin Bet) was indicted on Thursday February 5 for "aiding the enemy in time of war" as part of a vast case of smuggling goods to the Gaza Strip, the prosecution announced.
Betzalel Zini, a 50-year-old army reservist, is being prosecuted, according to the indictment, as part of a broader case of “organized, systematic and sophisticated smuggling of various goods” to the Palestinian territory from June 2025, in the midst of the war between Israel and the Islamist movement Hamas.
The suspects, according to the prosecution, "knew that the contraband merchandise could reach terrorist elements, including Hamas or its representatives, and be used to strengthen their power and finance their activities."
Betzalel Zini, charged with two alleged accomplices, is suspected of having smuggled into the Gaza Strip, during three different operations, a total of 14 cartons of cigarettes, each containing 50 cartridges, or 7,000 packets, for which he received 356,000 shekels (95,000 euros).
Cigarettes, Iphone, spare parts
The other charges against Betzalel Zini are those of “use of property for terrorist purposes, aggravated fraud and acceptance of bribes”.
On Wednesday, 12 other people and a company were charged in the case, which includes, in addition to cigarettes, the smuggling of iPhones, batteries and car parts worth several million shekels.
“A main category of prohibited goods that has been smuggled into the Gaza Strip is tobacco and cigarettes, which have earned Hamas, since the start of the war, a total amount of several hundred million shekels, helping among other things to maintain its economic viability and its control over the territory,” the Justice Ministry said in a statement.
According to the indictment, the suspects set up a supply chain that extended from the occupied West Bank before the merchandise was transported to delivery points in the Gaza Strip.
“This, while deceiving soldiers at crossing points and claiming that the defendants were acting within the framework of their military service for security purposes,” added the ministry.
At the time of the events with which he is accused, Betzalel Zini commanded a civil engineering team in Gaza and was authorized as such to bring vehicles into the Palestinian territory, and would have acted out of "greed", according to the prosecution. His brother, General David Zini, took over as head of the Shin Bet in October 2025.
With AFP
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