Abdelrahim Hamdan Dagalo, deputy leader of Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF), secretly travelled to Israel as part of contacts between the paramilitary group and Israeli officials during Sudan's war, according to an investigation by Africa Intelligence.

The report, published on 28 August, says RSF figures made two undisclosed trips to Tel Aviv, in May 2025 and February 2026. Delegations reportedly met officials from the Africa Division of Israel's Foreign Ministry as well as Israeli intelligence personnel.

Dagalo was part of the first delegation, alongside his younger brother Algoney Hamdan Dagalo. Both reportedly travelled to Israel again in February 2026, when RSF legal adviser Ezzadeen Elsafi also joined the delegation, according to Africa Intelligence.

Africa Intelligence said the contacts were part of a security and intelligence relationship between the RSF and Israel that predates the war, which began in April 2023. The report also says the trips did not appear in the RSF's public communications.

The reported visits come as Dagalo faces sanctions from several governments and international bodies over his role in the RSF.

The US Treasury sanctioned him in September 2023, citing his senior position in the RSF and the group's alleged involvement in killings, forced displacement and sexual violence against civilians.

The European Union added Dagalo to its sanctions list in November 2025, saying he had played a pivotal role in RSF military operations in Darfur and was responsible for actions involving serious human rights violations or breaches of international humanitarian law.

He was also designated by the UN Security Council sanctions regime on Sudan in February 2026. A UK government sanctions notice records him as the RSF's deputy leader and says the UN listing cited violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.

The US government separately determined in January 2025 that the RSF and allied militias had committed genocide in Sudan. US officials cited ethnically targeted killings and widespread sexual violence among the grounds for that determination.

Sudan's war began in April 2023 after a power struggle between the RSF, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, and the Sudanese Armed Forces under Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. The conflict has produced widespread allegations of war crimes and a major humanitarian crisis.

The latest report provides no public indication that the Israeli government or the RSF has formally acknowledged the two reported visits. Africa Intelligence's report is subscriber-only, while Israeli media have independently reported its account of the meetings.