Underworld Figure Shot Dead in Netivot Amid Escalating Gang Wars
Asher Kadosh, a 36-year-old criminal, was shot dead in Netivot by a masked gunman. Police suspect a contract killer executed the hit amid rising gang turf wars over local financial rackets.
A 36-year-old criminal from Beersheba, identified as Asher Kadosh, was shot dead in a parking lot on Even Danan Street in Netivot on August 1, 2026. The incident occurred at approximately 9:30 PM, just two days after Kadosh celebrated his son's bar mitzvah. According to police and eyewitness accounts, a masked assailant emerged from the bushes and fired 13 bullets at Kadosh before fleeing the scene within seconds.
Magen David Adom paramedics performed CPR at the site but were forced to pronounce him dead. Sources close to the investigation indicated that the victim had no chance of survival and likely suffered a close-range coup de grâce. Police detained a local kiosk owner on suspicion of luring Kadosh to the location in a setup known locally as a "red dome" trap. The suspect denied the allegations and was released after ten days in custody. Investigators suspect the actual perpetrators have fled abroad, leaving the high-profile murder unsolved for now.
Gang Warfare and Financial Motives
Law enforcement sources suggest the assassination was meticulously planned over a prolonged period. Investigators are examining intelligence indicating that the gunman may have been a contract killer brought into Israel specifically for the operation, who subsequently boarded a flight to Eastern Europe hours after the shooting. The killing highlights an escalating wave of violent crime in Netivot, driven by turf wars over lucrative criminal enterprises such as drug trafficking, extortion, and illegal gambling.
In a separate incident roughly three weeks prior, an explosive device detonated in a moving vehicle in the Tquma neighborhood, injuring four people slightly. Police arrested a man in his 20s from Ashkelon with ties to a notorious criminal syndicate. Over the past decade, major crime organizations from southern Israel, including factions historically led by the late Benny Shlomo and Shalom Domrani, have established footholds in Netivot to exploit the city's rapid economic growth and affluent construction sector.
