Weapons and ammunition reportedly stolen from Israeli army warehouses during the Gaza war are increasingly reaching criminal organizations, according to Israeli public broadcaster KAN.
The report said the military may not have a complete record of the weapons and ammunition that were taken from its warehouses and are now outside official control.
KAN reported that two incidents involving LAW anti-tank rockets occurred this week in the Arab towns of Sajur and Jaljulia.
The broadcaster said the recent incidents, along with declining black-market weapons prices, indicate that weapons may have been stolen on a large scale after emergency storage facilities were opened during the war.
Determining the exact amount of missing equipment is reportedly difficult because some ammunition could have been officially recorded as having been used during combat.
KAN also reported a significant rise in the criminal use of drones and military-grade weapons. Criminal incidents involving hand grenades increased from 75 in 2023 to 988 in 2024, according to the broadcaster.
In another incident in Nazareth, a hand grenade was reportedly dropped from a drone this week.
An investigation by Israel Police’s Lahav 433 unit reportedly found that businesses in Bedouin communities had acquired hundreds of large cargo drones through fraudulent invoices. Authorities have been unable to locate the drones or determine their current use, while some assessments suggest they may be involved in smuggling activities.
Israeli police, the military, the Shin Bet and other security bodies are now examining the scale of the threat posed by the increasing availability of drones and military weapons and are working on measures to address it.
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