Israeli military orders criminal investigations into Hind Rajab killing and strike on aid workers
The Israel Defense Forces will launch internal criminal probes into the January 2024 killing of Hind Rajab and a March 2025 strike on emergency workers, while closing cases on other strikes without charges.
Military police launch investigations into two cases
On 19 August 2026, the Israel Defense Forces announced that the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division will open criminal investigations into two separate incidents involving civilian and rescue worker deaths in Gaza. The decision follows assessments by the General Staff Fact-Finding and Assessment Mechanism, which has examined approximately 150 operational incidents since October 2023. Military Advocate General Itai Offir reviewed the findings and issued legal decisions on five cases that received broad attention. Two incidents will proceed to criminal investigations, while three other cases were closed without criminal proceedings after military prosecutors found no evidence justifying criminal misconduct charges.
- Hind Rajab, family members, and two Red Crescent paramedics killed in Gaza City.
- Seven World Central Kitchen aid workers killed in Deir al-Balah.
- Fifteen emergency and aid workers killed in Tel al-Sultan.
- IDF announces criminal probes into two incidents and clears troops in three others.
The deaths of Hind Rajab and ambulance workers
One criminal inquiry focuses on the 29 January 2024 killing of five-year-old Hind Rajab, six members of her family, and two Palestine Red Crescent Society paramedics in Gaza City. Hind was trapped inside a car taking Israeli fire and stayed on an emergency telephone call for hours pleading for assistance. The Red Crescent dispatched an ambulance with paramedics Yusuf al-Zeino and Ahmed al-Madhoun after coordinating clearance with Israeli forces, but contact was lost after their arrival. Twelve days later, relatives discovered the destroyed vehicle and the ambulance nearby, recovering the bodies of Hind, her family members, and both medics. The case drew global attention, inspiring the film The Voice of Hind Rajab by Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania. While the military initially claimed no Israeli forces were in the area, the updated findings acknowledged that soldiers fired on the vehicle and pointed to operational failures in ambulance coordination.
- Tel al-Sultan emergency workers
- 15 deaths
- Hind Rajab family and paramedics
- 9 deaths
- World Central Kitchen convoy
- 7 deaths
Fatalities among emergency crews in Tel al-Sultan
The second criminal investigation concerns a March 2025 strike in Tel al-Sultan in southern Gaza that killed 15 Palestinians, including emergency responders from the Red Crescent, Palestinian Civil Defense, and a United Nations worker. The victims were recovered from a sand grave adjacent to marked emergency vehicles. Following the incident, UN aid chief Tom Fletcher posted a public demand for accountability regarding the attack on rescue personnel.
They were killed by Israeli forces while trying to save lives. We demand answers & justice.
The military initially stated that the emergency vehicles operated suspiciously without headlights or visual markers. That assessment was subsequently disputed after video footage emerged showing the emergency convoy operating with flashing lights.
Strikes closed without criminal charges
The military closed its examinations into three other lethal strikes without opening criminal inquiries, including the 1 April 2024 attack in Deir al-Balah that killed seven aid workers from World Central Kitchen. Military prosecutors concluded that although there were serious errors in identifying the convoy as carrying Hamas operatives, commander decisions did not demonstrate reasonable suspicion of criminal conduct. Inquiries into strikes causing deaths among Doctors Without Borders staff were likewise concluded without criminal proceedings. Israeli human rights group Yesh Din stated that internal military investigations into Palestinian deaths rarely yield indictments or meaningful convictions against soldiers or officers.
