Overview
- Bezalel Zini was charged in Be'er Sheva with aiding the enemy in wartime, bribery, fraud and terror‑financing over alleged cigarette smuggling into Gaza.
- The filing came a day after prosecutors indicted 12 other suspects and a company in what they call a systematic scheme that began in summer 2025.
- Investigators allege Zini used reservist logistics access to move about 14 cartons of cigarettes through the Sufa crossing, receiving roughly 365,000 shekels.
- Prosecutors say the ring misled soldiers at crossings and used security pretexts to move cigarettes, phones, batteries and car parts into Gaza.
- Authorities cite tobacco as a major Hamas revenue stream worth hundreds of millions of shekels, have sought asset seizures, and note the Shin Bet chief is not implicated while police lead the probe to avoid conflicts of interest.