Israel Opens First Criminal Probes into Gaza Troop Killings

Israel's military has announced its first criminal investigations into troop conduct in Gaza, targeting the killings of five-year-old Hind Rajab and 15 Palestinian paramedics, nearly three years into a war that Gaza's Health Ministry says has claimed more than 73,000 Palestinian lives. The decision marks a significant departure from previous military reviews, which have largely concluded without criminal accountability — and it lands as Arab governments and the wider international community weigh whether internal Israeli processes can substitute for independent international justice.

Israel Opens First Criminal Probes into Troops' Gaza Killings

Jerusalem — August 19, 2026 — The military statement, released Wednesday, confirmed it would launch criminal probes into two of five cases reviewed, while declining to pursue criminal action in three others, including the deaths of aid workers from World Central Kitchen and Doctors Without Borders. The announcement comes as Israeli strikes continue across Gaza despite a fragile cease-fire that has been repeatedly violated since October 2025.

Hind Rajab Case: A Symbol of Civilian Suffering

The killing of Hind Rajab in February 2024 has become one of the most emblematic civilian tragedies of the war. The military admitted to firing at the family car carrying Rajab, four of her cousins, and her aunt and uncle as they fled an Israeli invasion of Gaza City. The admission comes after months of denial and obfuscation.

As gunfire sprayed around them, Rajab's 15-year-old cousin, Layan Hamada, called the Palestinian Red Crescent paramedic center, telling them a tank was approaching and her family had been killed. Seconds later, more gunshots were heard, and Layan's screaming stopped, according to the Red Crescent recording of the call. Palestinian paramedics dispatched an ambulance to rescue Rajab, the sole survivor, and stayed on the line until contact was lost.

Rajab, her five relatives, and two medics from the ambulance were found dead 12 days later. The military admitted Wednesday that troops had fired toward that ambulance, killing the two medics. Independent experts from the U.N. Human Rights Council have said Rajab's killing might constitute a war crime.

International Outcry and Demands for Justice

Rajab's grandmother, also named Hind Rajab, told the AP by phone that the Israeli investigation is not enough and called for an international probe into the killing of her granddaughter and all of the hundreds of children killed in Gaza during the war.

"An international investigation is required to uncover the truth and hold all those responsible accountable," she said. "We call for justice, not only for Hind, but for all Gaza children."

The Hind Rajab Foundation has submitted over 100 criminal complaints across 30 jurisdictions and 19 Article 15 submissions to the International Criminal Court since 2024. Rights groups have filed war crimes complaints to the ICC and requests to indict soldiers they identified as involved in the killing.

Rafah Medics Case: A Mass Grave and a Backtracked Account

In the second case now under criminal investigation, Israeli troops opened fire on the vehicles of 15 paramedics as they drove in the southern city of Rafah. The military said one deputy commander had been directed to step down. Troops shot at an ambulance that was driving to retrieve casualties from an Israeli offensive, then fired on several other emergency vehicles that went out to look for the first one, according to phone footage and the sole survivor of the shootings.

Troops then bulldozed over the bodies and vehicles, burying them in a mass grave. U.N. and rescue workers were only able to reach the site a week later to dig out the bodies. At the time, U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher called for "justice and answers."

"They were killed in their uniforms. Driving their clearly marked vehicles. Wearing their gloves. On their way to save lives. This should never have happened," said Jonathan Whittall, a U.N. official who helped recover the bodies.

Military Backtracks on Initial Justifications

The Israeli military initially said it opened fire because the vehicles were "advancing suspiciously" on nearby troops without headlights or emergency signals. But it backtracked from that account after the footage emerged, showing the Red Crescent and Civil Defense teams driving slowly with their emergency vehicle lights flashing and logos visible.

"We are not obligated to prove the truth because it is already proven to the whole world," Eid Azizi, a Palestinian Red Crescent spokesperson, told the AP in a phone call. "We shouldn't have reached this point if they respected and followed the international humanitarian law."

The military's statement comes nearly three years after the war began, a conflict that Gaza's Health Ministry and human rights groups have described as genocidal. Israeli strikes continue in Gaza despite the fragile cease-fire — Israel recently carried out a drone strike on a cafe in Gaza, killing at least six Palestinians, including a child.

Aid Worker Deaths: No Criminal Accountability

The military said it had decided not to open a criminal investigation into the April 2024 airstrikes that hit a convoy of World Central Kitchen vehicles, killing seven staffers of the U.S.-based aid group, which has distributed food in Gaza throughout the war. The aid group at the time said it had coordinated with the military over the movement of its cars. The vehicles, which had the group's logo on their roofs visible from the air, were left incinerated and mangled, indicating multiple targeted strikes.

Wednesday's military statement said it had mistakenly identified several individuals in the vehicles as armed Hamas military operatives, and that the convoy deviated from the previously coordinated route. But it concluded that "the decisions of the commanders did not raise reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct." At the time, two officers were removed from their positions and three others reprimanded.

The military also decided not to take criminal action over the killings of four staffers from Doctors Without Borders in two separate instances in November 2023 and February 2024. Israel later barred the medical charity from operating in Gaza.

Unaddressed Killings and Mounting Death Toll

The military statement did not mention the many other high-profile killings that Israel has pledged to investigate throughout the war, such as the Israeli strikes on a hospital in southern Gaza that killed five journalists in August 2025, including Mariam Dagga, a visual journalist who freelanced for The Associated Press and other news organizations.

Meanwhile, another seven Palestinians were killed and 23 others wounded in the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 73,407, the Health Ministry said Wednesday. In its daily statistical report, the ministry said hospitals in Gaza received seven bodies and 23 injured people over the past 24 hours.

The ministry did not specify the circumstances surrounding the casualties, as the Israeli army continued to violate the October 2025 cease-fire through shelling and gunfire across different parts of the territory. A number of victims remain trapped under rubble and on roads, with ambulance and civil defense crews still unable to reach them, the ministry added.

Regional and International Implications

According to the ministry, 1,273 Palestinians have been killed and 4,223 others injured in Israeli violations of the cease-fire. The ministry said the overall death toll has reached 73,407, with 174,335 others wounded. Beyond the casualties, the Israeli campaign has caused widespread destruction, damaging about 90% of Gaza's civilian infrastructure, while the U.N. has estimated reconstruction costs at around $70 billion.

U.N. Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, who oversees the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, charged Israel with using companies to carry out a "settler-colonial" displacement project aimed at apartheid and genocide. Albanese, an Italian legal and human rights academic appointed to the role in 2022, said that while political leaders and governments shirked their obligations, "far too many corporate entities have profited from the Israeli economy of illegal occupation, apartheid and now genocide." Her report is entitled "From economy of occupation to economy of genocide."

The decision to open criminal probes, while unprecedented, falls far short of the international accountability mechanisms that rights groups and victims' families have demanded. With the ICC already examining multiple war crimes complaints and the Hind Rajab Foundation pursuing cases across 30 jurisdictions, the military's internal investigations may serve more as a political gesture than a genuine path to justice. For the families of the more than 73,000 Palestinians killed, the distinction between a military review and an independent international investigation remains the difference between impunity and accountability.

By Malik Hassan, Staff Writer

This article was produced with AI-assisted research and editorial support. Sources: Daily Sabah, The Associated Press, United Nations statements.