Police said on Sunday that officers arrested three Gaza residents in the Negev Bedouin city of Rahat who had entered Israel during Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion, although security sources cited by Hebrew-language media disputed the official narrative.
The suspects were found in possession of dozens of stolen rounds of military ammunition, police said. The arrests were carried out by detectives from the Negev Police District’s Central Unit and Southern Region Border Police officers.
סדר חדש בנגב - בלשי ימ״ר נגב ולוחמי המשמר הלאומי דרום של מג״ב עצרו ברהט שלושה תושבי עזה, שנכנסו לישראל בחסות מתקפת הטרור של חמאס בשבעה באוקטובר, וברשותם נתפסו עשרות קליעי תחמושת צבאית גנובה pic.twitter.com/tUfJBmzDHO
— משטרת ישראל (@IL_police) December 21, 2025
Security sources disputed the police version of events, saying the Gazans entered Israel before Oct. 7 and remained in the country after authorities barred Gazan laborers amid the war with Hamas.
The three men were taken to the Sde Teiman military detention facility for questioning.
JNS contacted the Israel Police for comment.
Thousands of Gazans crossed into Israel amid the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, many of whom were later arrested or killed by Israeli forces.
Before the terrorist attack, around 17,500 Gazans entered Israel daily for work. A week after the invasion, Israeli authorities began investigating whether some of these individuals had passed information on to Hamas.
