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Akbar Novruz

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Israel has held meetings with senior officials from Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and received RSF delegations in Tel Aviv during Sudan’s ongoing war, according to an investigation by Africa Intelligence.

The investigation, published Friday, found that two RSF delegations travelled to Tel Aviv, one in May 2025 and another in February 2026. Members of the delegations reportedly met officials from the Africa Division of Israel’s Foreign Ministry as well as Israeli intelligence officials.

According to the report, the contacts were part of a broader security and intelligence relationship between Israel and the RSF that predates the outbreak of Sudan’s war in April 2023. The relationship reportedly included security cooperation and may have involved the transfer of surveillance technologies to the paramilitary group.

The first delegation reportedly included Abdul Rahim Hamdan Dagalo, deputy commander of the RSF and brother of its leader Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo, as well as another brother, Algoney Hamdan Dagalo.

Abdul Rahim and Algoney reportedly returned to Israel in February 2026, accompanied by RSF legal adviser Ezzadean Elsafi.

Africa Intelligence reported that the relationship between Hemedti’s associates and Israeli officials was not newly established during the current conflict, with contacts between the two sides having continued for years.

Israel has historically maintained contacts with both major sides of Sudan’s political and military establishment. While its Foreign Ministry and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office engaged with the Sudanese Armed Forces, the RSF reportedly maintained contacts primarily through Mossad.

Sudan formally joined the Abraham Accords process in January 2021, becoming the third Arab-majority country to agree to normalise relations with Israel after the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

The reported Israeli contacts with the RSF come amid international scrutiny of the paramilitary force over alleged atrocities committed during the Sudanese conflict.

In February, the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan said the RSF’s October siege and capture of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, displayed “hallmarks of genocide.”

Sudan’s war, which began in April 2023 as a power struggle between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces, has since developed into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with both sides accused of widespread violations against civilians.