JERUSALEM (AP) — An Israeli man who never served in the military has been accused of impersonating a soldier and stealing weapons after sneaking into an army unit and joining the fighting against Hamas.
According to an indictment filed on Sunday, 35-year-old Roi Yifrach took advantage of the chaotic situation following the October 7 Hamas attack to take part in combat operations and steal large quantities of military equipment, including weapons, ammunition and sensitive communications equipment.
Israeli media said he spent time fighting in the Gaza Strip and was even seen in a photo next to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during one of his visits to soldiers there.
Yifrach traveled to southern Israel on October 7 and posed alternately as a combat soldier in an elite counterterrorism unit, as a bomb detonation expert and as a member of the Shin Bet internal security service, the indictment says.
Police arrested Yifrach on December 17 and found in his possession large quantities of weapons, grenades, magazines, walkie-talkies, a drone, uniforms and other military equipment.
Eitan Sabag, Yifrach's lawyer, told Israel's Channel 12 television that Yifrach went to the south to help as a medic with a first responder organization and fought bravely in defense of Israel for more than two months. “He helped people and rescued people, all of whom were under fire, and at the same time fought against terrorists,” Sabag said.
Police also arrested four other people, including a police officer, in connection with the gun theft.
___
For more AP coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war