Why Israel’s gang wars are exploding like never before

Israel is experiencing an unprecedented surge in gang-related violence, marked by a significant increase in assassinations using explosive devices. While police data indicates a 30% decline in overall explosive device usage from January to June 2026 compared to the previous year, the lethality of attacks has risen, with eight vehicle explosions and eight fatalities in June alone. A key factor is the increased availability of military-grade explosives, which Chief Superintendent Yaniv Fadida, head of the Israel Police bomb laboratory division, states is a "direct spillover from [the] war" since October 7, 2023. These powerful explosives, often stolen from IDF bases, are now widely used by top-tier criminal organizations, while smaller gangs utilize improvised devices made from fireworks. Despite police successes in neutralizing some devices and making arrests, none of the assassinations carried out with explosives this year have been fully solved, with no indictments filed against the perpetrators.