Key facts
- Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) held meetings with Israeli officials in Tel Aviv.
- Two RSF delegations traveled to Tel Aviv in May 2025 and February 2026.
- The meetings involved officials from Israel's foreign ministry and intelligence services.
- The contacts were part of a security and intelligence partnership that predates the Sudan war.
- RSF leadership has faced convictions for war crimes and genocide in absentia.
Israel has engaged in discreet meetings with senior officials from Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) over the past two years, according to an investigation by Africa Intelligence. Two RSF delegations reportedly traveled to Tel Aviv, one in May 2025 and another in February 2026, meeting with officials from Israel's foreign ministry and intelligence services.
These contacts are described as part of an ongoing security and intelligence partnership that began before the outbreak of the war in Sudan in April 2023. The first delegation included Abdul Rahim Hamdan Dagalo, deputy commander to RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan "Hemedti" Dagalo, and their brother Algoney Hamdan Dagalo. The RSF's legal adviser, Ezzadean Elsafi, accompanied them on the second visit.
The investigation suggests that cooperation in security and intelligence between Hemedti's associates and Israeli officials has occurred for years, potentially involving the transfer of surveillance technologies to the RSF. Israel has a history of engaging with both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF.
Sudan normalized relations with Israel in January 2021 as part of the Abraham Accords. Meanwhile, the RSF faces serious accusations, with a UN mission concluding that their actions bear "hallmarks of genocide." In July 2026, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo and 15 others were sentenced to death in absentia by a court in Port Sudan for their roles in crimes including genocide and war crimes, particularly related to the killing of West Darfur Governor Khamis Abdullah Abakar.