Israeli security forces have charged a 31-year-old man from Tamra, Sultan Abu al-Hija, after a joint operation by the Shin Bet and the Israel Police uncovered what investigators describe as repeated covert outreach to Hamas's armed wing. According to the Shin Bet and police, Abu al-Hija reached out multiple times to the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades in Gaza, seeking to secretly assist the group. He was arrested on August 28, 2026, in a coordinated raid involving the Israel Police Northern District's Central Unit, the Border Police's Northern National Guard, and the Shin Bet, with officers filmed moving through the streets at night before clearing the location. Investigators say the case did not stop at Gaza: Abu al-Hija had also made contact with Iranian intelligence operatives, though he was stopped before he could act on their behalf.

An indictment against Abu al-Hija, an Israeli citizen, was filed Friday morning in Haifa District Court, closing out an investigation authorities say ran for an extended period before his arrest. The Shin Bet and police issued a joint statement saying they view any involvement by Israeli citizens in activity that endangers state security with great severity, and pledged to keep using the legal tools available to pursue similar cases. The allegations, which touch on two of Israel's most sensitive security threats at once, a Gaza-based armed group and Iranian intelligence, remain unproven unless established in court. Abu al-Hija's case now moves into the judicial process, where prosecutors will need to lay out the evidence behind the security agencies' claims.