Israel’s military on Wednesday initiated its first criminal investigations into troop conduct in Gaza, focusing on two incidents that generated significant international attention. The investigations center on the killings of 5-year-old Hind Rajab and her family members, as well as the deaths of 15 Palestinian paramedics and emergency responders. The military announced it had completed reviews of 150 incidents overall and made determinations on five cases, declining to pursue criminal probes into three other incidents involving international aid workers.
The Rajab case involved the child becoming trapped in a vehicle with slain relatives in February 2024, during which she pleaded for help by phone before being killed. Paramedics who responded to assist her were also killed. The second incident occurred in March 2025 when troops fired on ambulances responding to an offensive in Rafah, killing 15 medics and emergency workers from the Red Crescent and Gaza’s Civil Defense. Military personnel subsequently bulldozed the bodies and vehicles into a mass grave.
The military stated it would not initiate criminal investigations into April 2024 airstrikes that killed seven World Central Kitchen staff members or incidents in November 2023 and February 2024 involving four Doctors Without Borders workers. Regarding the World Central Kitchen strike, the military said individuals in the vehicles were mistakenly identified as armed operatives, and concluded that commanders’ decisions “did not raise reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct.” Previous accountability measures for that incident included removal of two officers and reprimands for three others.
The announcements prompted criticism from multiple parties. Hind’s grandmother stated that an international investigation was necessary and called for justice not only for Hind but for all Gaza children. The Hind Rajab Foundation director characterized the military investigations as a “charade,” while the Palestinian Red Crescent and international observers similarly questioned the adequacy of internal military accountability mechanisms. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong expressed outrage at the decision not to pursue criminal action in the World Central Kitchen case, noting that officer removals and reprimands were insufficient accountability.
Military investigators will now conduct the criminal probes and present findings to military prosecutors. The investigations occur against the backdrop of the campaign in Gaza, which has resulted in more than 73,000 deaths according to the territory’s Health Ministry, with rights groups and U.N. bodies alleging war crimes and genocide.
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