The Israeli military announced Wednesday that it has opened its first criminal investigations into the conduct of its troops in Gaza. The probes focus on two specific incidents: the February 2024 killing of 5-year-old Hind Rajab and her family members, and the March 2025 killing of 15 Palestinian paramedics. The military stated it has reviewed 150 incidents of troop conduct and reached decisions on five specific cases.
The investigations follow significant international attention on the deaths of civilians and medical personnel. In the case of Hind Rajab, the military admitted to firing at a vehicle carrying the child and her relatives as they fled Gaza City, as well as an ambulance sent to rescue her. In the second case, the military acknowledged troops fired on emergency vehicles in Rafah and subsequently bulldozed the bodies of 15 responders into a mass grave, an action initially defended as a response to "suspicious" movement before video evidence emerged.
While launching these two probes, the military confirmed it will not pursue criminal investigations into three other high-profile attacks. These include the April 2024 airstrikes that killed seven World Central Kitchen staffers and separate incidents that killed four Doctors Without Borders employees. The military concluded that while mistakes were made in identifying the World Central Kitchen convoy, the commanders' decisions did not meet the threshold for criminal misconduct.
For the international community and aid organizations like World Central Kitchen and Doctors Without Borders, the decision not to investigate specific strikes on their personnel impacts how these groups assess the safety of their workers on the ground. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong stated her government remains outraged by the lack of further criminal inquiry into the death of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom. The lack of criminal proceedings in these instances means that for thousands of aid workers and medical staff operating in the region, the primary form of accountability remains administrative reprimands or removals rather than legal convictions.
The process now moves to military investigators who will submit findings to military prosecutors. The military advocate general—the highest legal authority in the Israel Defense Forces—will then decide whether to issue indictments, continue the investigation, or close the cases. There is no reported deadline for these decisions. Rights advocates, including Tal Steiner of HaMoked, noted that legal proceedings for soldiers are rare; since October 2023, only one soldier is reported to have served prison time for abuse, following a plea bargain in June 2025. Future developments will depend on the findings presented by the investigative teams to the prosecution.