The operation, dubbed Operation Courier Run, was jointly carried out by the Southern District Israel Police, Border Police, and the Lachish District Central Investigations Unit (YAMAR).
Israeli security forces arrested 27 suspects in simultaneous raids on dozens of homes in Ashdod and Kiryat Gat on Tuesday morning, in the culmination of a months-long undercover operation infiltrating criminal networks in the two cities.
According to police, the suspects took control of delivery and distribution routes in Ashdod and Kiryat Gat and coerced business owners into using their services, aiming the establish control over their areas of operation, generate profits, and launder funds.
The operation, dubbed Operation Courier Run, was jointly carried out by the Southern District Israel Police, Border Police, and the Lachish District Central Investigations Unit (YAMAR).
Early on Tuesday morning, Jerusalem area Border Police arrested a Beersheba resident in his 60s who is suspected of transporting 11 Palestinian residents of the West Bank into sovereign Israel, who themselves were also arrested.
Israeli security officials locate and arrest Palestinians hiding in the back of a vehicle at a border crossing on August 11, 2026 (CREDIT: ISRAEL POLICE SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT).
Israeli security officers at the Ofer border crossing searched a vehicle which seemed "suspicious," per the police report, and discovered a large pile of used tires in the back. Upon moving the tires, they found a double wall, behind which the 11 Palestinians were hiding.
Police in north Tel Aviv arrested a 26-year-old suspect on Monday who is suspected of making hundreds of thousands of shekels in purchases using fraudulently obtained credit cards. News of the arrest was disclosed to the public on Tuesday, along with the extension of the suspect's detention.
This arrest followed a months-long undercover operation in which investigators amassed information about the suspect's purchases, which included computers, luxury clothing, sunglasses, and shoes sold in stores throughout the Tel Aviv area.
Tel Aviv police on Tuesday successfully petitioned the courts to issue a judicial restriction order against Yossi Musli, the head of the Musli crime family. Per the order, Musli is on house arrest, prohibited from contacting a number of other known criminals, and banned from using the internet.
Musli was arrested in July in connection with a series of grenade attacks, arson, and shootings in central and northern Israel, which have been ongoing throughout the summer. The investigation into the attacks remains ongoing, with several additional arrests made nationwide in connection with the incidents.
Also on Tuesday, police responded to a call in Bat Yam reporting that a person was seen in public holding a grenade and allegedly intending to throw it.
Police were able to arrest the suspect, a 22-year-old resident of central Israel, before he could use the grenade, which turned out to be a stun grenade. Security forces then neutralized the grenade.