The Israeli military has launched its first criminal investigations into troop conduct in Gaza, focusing on the high-profile killings of five-year-old Hind Rajab and 15 Palestinian paramedics. The military admitted for the first time that its forces fired on Rajab's vehicle and shelled the responding ambulance. However, the IDF declined to criminally prosecute soldiers involved in other deadly strikes, including the attack that killed seven World Central Kitchen workers. This decision drew international outrage, while human rights groups dismissed the internal probes as a whitewash designed to stave off international legal action.
Hind Rajab killing investigation
- ▪The Israel Defense Forces announced on August 19, 2026, that it has opened a criminal investigation into the killing of five-year-old Hind Rajab, her family, and two paramedics in Gaza.
- ▪The Israel Defense Forces admitted that a shell was fired at the Palestine Red Crescent Society ambulance dispatched to rescue Hind Rajab, killing paramedics Yusuf al-Zeino and Ahmed al-Madhoun.
- ▪The Israel Defense Forces admitted for the first time on August 19, 2026, that its troops fired at the vehicle carrying Hind Rajab and her family members in Gaza City in January 2024.
- ▪The Israel Defense Forces previously denied that its troops were present in the area or within firing range of the vehicle where Hind Rajab was killed.
- ▪The Israel Defense Forces stated that its troops fired at Hind Rajab's vehicle because it was traveling contrary to advanced notice published by the military spokesperson to local residents.
IDF internal review mechanism
- ▪The Israel Defense Forces announced a criminal investigation into the March 23, 2025, killing of 15 Palestinians, including medical personnel and a UN employee, in Rafah's Tel al-Sultan neighborhood.
- ▪The Israel Defense Forces declined to open criminal investigations into the killings of four Médecins Sans Frontières employees across two separate incidents in November 2023 and February 2024.
- ▪The Israel Defense Forces admitted that after shooting the 15 Palestinians in Rafah, troops crushed the emergency vehicles and covered the bodies with metal mesh in a shallow mass grave.
- ▪The Israel Defense Forces General Staff Fact-Finding and Assessment Mechanism completed reviews of 150 combat incidents in Gaza, deciding to open criminal investigations in only two cases.
World Central Kitchen probe closure
- ▪The Israel Defense Forces concluded that serious failures led soldiers to mistakenly identify a World Central Kitchen security guard as an armed Hamas operative, but found no criminal misconduct.
- ▪The Israel Defense Forces decided against opening a criminal investigation into the April 2024 airstrikes that killed seven World Central Kitchen staff members in Deir al-Balah.
- ▪Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong expressed outrage at Israel's decision not to prosecute those responsible for killing World Central Kitchen aid worker Zomi Frankcom and summoned Israel's ambassador.
- ▪World Central Kitchen condemned the Israeli military prosecutor's decision, stating the investigation conflates timelines, muddies the story, and shifts blame for the military's illegal conduct.
Gaza civilian death toll
- ▪More than 73,000 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its military campaign in response to the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks.
- ▪At least 1,200 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since a ceasefire agreement was announced in October, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.
- ▪The Israel Defense Forces' own internal data indicates a Palestinian civilian death rate of 83% during the war in Gaza, according to a report cited by Time.
International accountability criticism
- ▪The Hind Rajab Foundation and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society expressed no confidence in the Israeli military's internal investigations, calling them fundamentally flawed and a whitewash.
- ▪Human rights groups state that the Israeli military is conducting these internal reviews to stave off international legal action, particularly from the International Criminal Court.
- ▪An analysis by Israeli human rights group Yesh Din found that only 0.17% to 0.4% of military investigations into soldiers harming Palestinians result in prosecutions.
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