Bezalel Zini, brother of Shin Bet chief David Zini, has admitted to receiving large sums of cash from a subordinate in the military but denies having known that the money came from the smuggling of goods into Gaza, according to interrogation quotes published by Hebrew media on Tuesday.

In one interrogation quoted by Channel 12, Bezalel Zini accused investigators of going after “me, my family name and maybe my last unit, the Uriah Force,” an IDF unit of reservists and civilian contractors that carried out demolitions in the Strip and was led by Zini.

According to the reports, Zini claimed he thought at first that the money he got from former Uriah Force reservist Aviel Ben David was from private donations to the unit, not smuggling.

“I knew after the fact, and it’s been eating away at me recently,” said Zini, according to the Kan public broadcaster. The precise sum he got from Ben David was not specified.

Zini was quoted as saying “personal problems” prevented him from immediately reporting Ben David and others tied to the smuggling operation. He reportedly refused to elaborate on the nature of those problems, saying to his investigator, “We’ll leave them for another time.”

Zini is accused of abusing his access to Gaza to smuggle 14 crates of cigarettes there on three occasions, earning a total of NIS 365,000 ($117,405). He denies the charges.

In his own interrogation, Ben David claimed Zini was a knowing accomplice to the smuggling and described handing him a plastic shopping bag with Zini’s cut of the profits, worth NIS 200,000 ($64,490), two days after the pair drove into Gaza together with a crate of Marlboro cigarettes, according to Channel 12 and the Ynet news site.

In transcripts of two interrogation sessions published by Channel 12, Zini initially rejected the allegations that he abused his access to Gaza, saying: “My entry into the Strip is a daily occurrence.”

Asked how much money he got, Zini said: “I don’t know how much, it could be NIS 200,000 or 250,000 ($65,000-80,000), I don’t know.”

When asked if he received more than NIS 300,000 ($97,000), he responded: “I received [money], I don’t know how much.”

During the interrogation, Kan reported, Zini’s investigator cited him as saying in a previous investigation that Ben David was having personal financial problems. The investigator reportedly asked if Zini had inquired what the source of the cash he received from Ben David was.

“No,” Zini was quoted as saying. “He said he has people who are helping [him].”

He added that he did not think there was anything suspicious about the cash from Ben David, saying Ben David “brought a lot of money and contributed to the unit’s operations,” according to Kan.

“He has a lot of friends. He’s well-connected, I thought it was from contractors and so on,” Zini was quoted as saying. “He has a lot of connections and people who could help the unit.”

Channel 12 quoted Zini as telling his investigator that he had, throughout the war in Gaza, received donations from “dozens of people,” but did not keep organized books, due to the war.

In the Uriah Force, Zini reportedly said, “We used this money to buy equipment, spare parts, machinery components, food, drink and goodies for soldiers and their families, and also to help the families of the wounded and of those killed.”

Ben David and Zini were indicted earlier this month with charges including assisting the enemy in wartime for their alleged part in a smuggling ring that comprised over a dozen people.

The smuggling ring allegedly transferred 26 crates of cigarettes into Gaza for a total of NIS 3.9 million ($1.25 million) in August and September 2025, as well as other items including iPhones, batteries and car parts.

Some of the items are classified by Israel as “dual-use,” meaning they may not be imported by aid groups in Gaza due to fear that Hamas could use the items for terror activities.

David Zini, the Shin Bet chief, is not suspected of any wrongdoing in the case, which is being investigated by the Israel Police, instead of the Shin Bet, due to the agency chief’s family ties to the suspect.

If so, we have a request. 

Every day during the past two years of war and rising global anti-Zionism and antisemitism, our journalists kept you abreast of the most important developments that merit your attention. Millions of people rely on ToI for fact-based coverage of Israel and the Jewish world. 

We care about Israel - and we know you do too. So we have an ask for this new year of 2026: express your values by joining The Times of Israel Community, an exclusive group for readers like you who appreciate and financially support our work. 

We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.

You clearly find our careful reporting valuable, in a time when facts are often distorted and news coverage often lacks context.

Your support is essential to continue our work. We want to continue delivering the professional journalism you value, even as the demands on our newsroom have grown dramatically since October 7.

So today, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6 a month you'll become our partners while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.

Thank you,David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel

1 Trump ally to ToI: Ayatollah staying in power would be ‘strategic victory for Iran’

2 Spike Lee wears pro-Palestinian outfit to NBA All-Star Game featuring 1st Israeli player

3 Swiss TV calls Israeli Olympic bobsleigh captain a ‘supporter of genocide’ in Gaza

4 InterviewDid the founder of Hadassah – Israel’s ‘mother’ – support a one-state solution?

5 Iran’s FM says ‘guiding principles’ agreed on with US after 2nd round of nuclear talks

6 Smotrich to Arab MKs: It’s not the government’s fault ‘you murder one another’

7 AnalysisBnei Brak riot shows that to integrate Haredim, Israel should expect strife

8 ObituaryRev. Jesse Jackson, US civil rights icon with rocky ties to Jews, dies at 84

2023-2025 Israel-Hamas war

© The Times of Israel