IDF to increase Gaza border security due to smuggling risks

IDF officials identified Hamas’s struggle in Gaza, after more than two years of war that left it without stockpiles of standard explosives, to obtain weapons as well as additional equipment.

The Israeli military announced it would deploy military police at crossing points along the Israel-Gaza border fence, aiming to prevent smuggling by inspecting military vehicles and property of Defense Ministry contractors operating in the Yellow Line area.

IDF officials identified Hamas’s struggle in Gaza, after more than two years of war that left it without stockpiles of standard explosives, to obtain additional weapons and equipment for its future military buildup.

Southern Command, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and the police understand that Hamas’s need for equipment pushes it to seek actors in Israel who will help provide what it lacks, including establishing contacts with Israeli Bedouin or Arab elements who have ties to contacts in Gaza. From there, the process expands through the construction of smuggling routes, some of which rely on soldiers, contractor employees and civil servants operating in the Yellow Line area around Gaza.

On Monday, police informed the Southern District Court that the Attorney General’s Office would file dozens of indictments against 16 suspects allegedly involved in smuggling into Gaza. Currently, the police, the Shin Bet and the Criminal Investigation Division of the military police are handling two major cases of smuggling into Gaza. At the same time, investigations are underway into the removal of weapons from IDF storage sites along the Yellow Line to Israel, with some of them ending up in criminal hands.

In recent weeks, Southern Command, led by Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor, and Gaza Division 143, led by Brig. General Barak Hiram has spearheaded an initiative to strengthen surveillance of movements at crossing points between Israel and Gaza.

There are two types of crossings along the border with Gaza. The first are regulated crossings for the transfer of goods, managed by the Ministry of Defense, notably the Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings. Surveillance at these crossing points is regulated and strict and includes technological measures to prevent smuggling. The second type of crossings are “operational gates”, gates along the fence through which IDF forces, contractors and military equipment suppliers pass from Israel into the Yellow Line area.

It was decided to install technological systems at level crossings to monitor entrances. It was also decided that the doors would remain locked 24 hours a day and only when entry was required would an area patrol arrive with the keys.

Only after a name check and a cross-reference with the sector command center list, confirming that all people on board the vehicle are approved and that their entry into the Yellow Line has been coordinated, would authorization be given to the patrol to open the door.

Southern Command assigns military police to crossing points in the West Bank and Gaza border

At the same time, the Southern Command decided to deploy military police forces trained for inspections at crossing points in the West Bank and along the border with Gaza. The aim is to strengthen surveillance by conducting inspections of vehicles entering and exiting, just as the Israeli army did when it held the security zone in Lebanon, or at entry points like the Fatima Gate in Metula or the Rosh Hanikra crossing, where military police carried out checks to prevent smuggling.

At the same time, the IDF claims that this is a preventive activity that will be the priority of the Shin Bet, the police, the Intelligence Directorate and the Ministry of Defense.

The Israeli military is determined to act forcefully against attempts to develop smuggling routes between Israel and Gaza through the crossings, with the understanding that Hamas will continue in the coming period to attempt to entice Israelis to cross the lines and smuggle tobacco products, cigarettes, drugs, cell phones, drones, explosive materials, weapons and much more into Gaza.