The president of the Beersheba District Court (Israel), Judge Benny Sagi, who was in charge of the investigations in the case involving the circle of the country’s prime minister, for an alleged case of corruption, has died suddenly.
The cause of his death was a traffic accident, after a vehicle collided with his motorcycle while he was traveling on Route 6. According to the police, a vehicle that was traveling off the road entered the highway and collided with Sagi’s motorcycle. It happened on January 4, reports the Israeli press.
Magen David Adom (the local Red Cross) reported that doctors and paramedics who arrived at the scene described the accident as “shocking.” They found Sagi lying on the road with multiple injuries and no vital signs, and he was immediately pronounced dead at the scene.
Police have opened an investigation into the accident, which took place near Kibbutz Kfar Menachem, east of Ashdod, with police officers from Kiryat Malachi station and traffic accident investigators examining the circumstances of the accident. It has already emerged that the person who collided with the magistrate was under the influence of several narcotics. He entered the road from a dirt road in a blind spot.
His burial took place on January 5, 2026, at the Kiryat Shaul Cemetery. Sagi is survived by his wife, daughter and two sons.
Benny Sagi, the judge in the corruption case against Benjamin Netanyahu.
Who was Sagi?
Sagi was appointed acting president of the Beersheba District Court in June 2024 and took office permanently in April 2025.
He was born in 1971, served in the military between 1989 and 1993 and, after completing his studies to be a lawyer, served in the State Central District Prosecutor’s Office between 2001 and 2007. Sagi’s first judicial appointment was in the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court in 2007.
He also became a law professor at several universities, before being appointed vice president of the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court in 2013, and then judge of the Tel Aviv District Court in 2015.
The case
The magistrate had in hand the so-called Case 3000, also known as the “submarine case.” It is a high-profile corruption investigation in Israel related to the purchase of German submarines and warships for billions of shekels.
These are your keys:
- The investigation centers on suspicions of a massive bribery scheme in Israel’s procurement deals for military vessels from the German shipyard ThyssenKrupp.
- Several people in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s inner circle were implicated and charged, including his personal lawyer and cousin, David Shimron, and former ThyssenKrupp representative in Israel, Michael Ganor.
- Importantly, although the case involved his closest associates and he pushed for the deals, Netanyahu himself has not been charged in Case 3000 and has been treated as a witness, not a suspect. The Israeli prosecutor’s office did not find sufficient evidence to directly charge him in this specific case.
- Criminal proceedings against the other defendants continue. In parallel, a state commission of inquiry was established to analyze the decision-making processes surrounding the purchase of the submarines and whether Netanyahu’s decisions compromised national security. In January 2026, the sudden death of the judge presiding over the court in charge of case 3000 has generated some uncertainty about the development of the main trial.
- Netanyahu faces separate trials in consolidated cases (known as cases 1000, 2000 and 4000), on allegations of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.
- Case 1000 investigates the acceptance of expensive gifts (cigars, champagne) from wealthy businessmen in exchange for favors.
- Case 2000, an alleged agreement with the owner of a newspaper to obtain favorable coverage in exchange for harming a rival newspaper.
- Case 4000, at last, accusations that Netanyahu gave regulatory benefits to telecommunications company Bezeq in exchange for positive media coverage on the news site Wallaproperty of the company.
Sagi had just requested access to classified documents that could clarify the political connections of case 3,000. The process was in an advanced phase, with decisive hearings and the prospect of a verdict that threatened to upset those who present themselves as guarantors of national security.
The reactions
The Israeli Justice Department highlighted the judge’s leadership and achievements at a young age, while President Isaac Herzog said he was “shocked and pained by the tragic death” of Sagi, whom he described as a much-loved figure. “Judge Sagi was a brilliant and sharp jurist, a wonderful judge who combined great professional knowledge with extraordinary honesty,” Herzog said.
“I was constantly impressed from afar by the rare combination he showed: a judge of stature and authority, with a moving personal story, who was known above all as a man of values, humble and kind, who always saw the person in front of him and fought for peace and reconciliation. The judicial system today lost one of its best sons and leaders,” emphasized the former Labor Party.
Chief Justice Isaac Amit said the entire judiciary was “shocked and dismayed” by Sagi’s death. “He was a great man with a huge heart. We have lost a friend, a leader, a person who radiated charisma, an extraordinarily talented judge, a wonderful family man,” Amit said in a video message. “Benny, I love you like a son, everyone who knew you adored you… We will not forget you, Benny.”
Justice Minister Yariv Levin repeated that he was “shocked and deeply saddened” to learn of Sagi’s death, describing him as “a brilliant jurist, an exceptional judge, loved and respected by both lawyers and litigants.”
Levin said Sagi transformed his court “from the very beginning of his tenure into a court that enjoyed broad public confidence” and that “his extensive professional knowledge gave him stature as a professional and administrative authority, among his fellow judges, among lawyers and among the general public who were familiar with his work.”
In a press release, the Judicial Authority said it was “deeply shocked and deeply hurt” by Sagi’s death. “President Sagi was a talented and promising judge, a leader, loved and appreciated by all who had the privilege of knowing him, who achieved professional achievements at a young age, and his death is a great loss to the judicial system in which he served as a judge for approximately 20 years,” he highlighted.
Controversial video
This Monday, in addition, Netanyahu is in the news because yesterday he appeared in a video supporting Victor Orban ahead of the Hungarian elections in 2026. It is not surprising, because he is the European leader who defends him the most and has even refused to arrest him, despite the fact that there are alleged war crimes against Palestine.
What is striking are the traveling companions of the Likud leader in these images: all uktra-rightists such as the Spanish Santiago Abascal, the Argentine Javier Milei or the Italian Giorgia Meloni but, in addition, the leaders of , a party that defends Nazi postulates and repeatedly denounced as anti-Semitic.
Representatives of the Austrian Freedom Party also appear, a group also noted for its rejection of Jews. Both parties, remembers the newspaper are officially boycotted by the State of Israel for their anti-Semitic roots.
