Israeli authorities said on Tuesday that antiquities looters were arrested while missile interceptions were underway in northern Israel. Officers discovered two individuals conducting unauthorised digs at Horvat Hermesh, an archaeological site close to the Elyakim Interchange in northern Israel.
After their arrest, inspectors from the Israel Antiquities Authority and Border Police officers had to seek shelter alongside the suspects when air raid sirens sounded during their journey to a police station.
The site holds ruins dating to the Roman and Byzantine eras, with occupation recorded from the 1st century through to around the early 7th century CE. Officers found the suspects digging in a pit roughly 2 meters (6.5 feet) deep, located near an ancient oil press. Their activity had disturbed archaeological strata and left pottery fragments broken and scattered.
Suspects and officers take shelter together as sirens sound
Border Police supported the operation after the pair was arrested. During the transfer, sirens sent officers, inspectors, suspects, and bystanders alike rushing into a nearby shelter. Around 30 people waited inside until the alert ended. Excavation equipment found at the scene was confiscated, and the inquiry remains open.
In a separate incident, two suspects from Fureidis were detained at the Horvat Hadarim site within the Khorvat Drakhmon Nature Reserve.
They were found using metal detectors and digging tools and were carrying what authorities described as looted antiquities. Their equipment was seized, and prosecutors are expected to consider charges.
Second looting case and official response
Nir Distelfeld, the Israel Antiquities Authority’s northern region supervisor, said the arrests underscored an unsettling reality: that some individuals seek to exploit periods of public tension to pillage heritage sites, even as missile alerts are sounding.
Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu said those who loot archaeological sites are not ordinary criminals. He described them as people who deliberately target history, well aware that ancient artefacts carry significance tied to the country’s cultural and historical roots.
