Security forces respond to 9 smuggling attempts in 'one of the most active nights on the Egyptian border in recent memory'

Troops capture sacks of drugs after lookouts spot smugglers on opposite side of fence

Soldiers sent to scene after surveillance identified the suspects trying to cross; authorities say illegal substances worth some $650,000

Drugs seized with a value of tens of millions of shekels; troops fired into the air but no arrests made

Expanded rules of engagement meant to help military crackdown on gun thefts from military bases, cross-border drug deals

More than 300 kilograms of of marijuana flowers and hashish seized; no arrests made

Military cracks down on marijuana smuggling, but core economic issues pushing Bedouin Israelis to crime remain and campaign seems to have little effect on overall drug trade

As he leaves Caracal, Lt. Col. Erez Shabtay hails performance of mixed-gender units over same-sex ones, says his troops cut smuggling on Egyptian border by 80%

Beginning next month, an all-female armored Merkava IV company will defend the frontier as part of the mixed-gender Caracal Battalion, commander says

In second deadly incident in two weeks, Israeli soldiers open fire after a truck allegedly accelerates toward them