Israel Opens Criminal Probes Into Gaza War Killings

The Israeli military announced on August 19, 2026, that it has opened criminal investigations into two high-profile attacks during the Gaza war, including the 2024 killing of five-year-old Hind Rajab and a March 2025 strike that left 15 Palestinian paramedics and emergency workers dead, according to reporting by The Associated Press, CNN, NPR, BBC, The New York Times, DW, and Reuters.

According to military reports reviewed by international outlets, the investigations mark the first time the Israeli military has formally admitted to firing on the vehicle carrying young Hind Rajab in Gaza City. The military stated that a fact-finding mechanism reviewed 150 incidents involving troops in the enclave, resulting in decisions on five specific cases.

The Killing of Hind Rajab and Red Crescent Response

On January 29, 2024, Israeli forces fired on a car approaching their position in Gaza City carrying five-year-old Hind Rajab and several of her relatives, DW and Reuters reported. Five passengers were initially killed, while Rajab and her 15-year-old cousin, Layan Hamada, survived the initial burst.

Layan Hamada contacted the Palestine Red Crescent Society to report that an Israeli tank was approaching and that her family members were dead, according to recordings cited by DW. Gunshots were heard on the call before Layan went silent, leaving Hind Rajab trapped alone in the vehicle for hours.

An ambulance dispatched by the Palestine Red Crescent to rescue the child was struck by a shell shortly after arriving at the scene, according to military and Red Crescent accounts. Twelve days later, search teams recovered the bodies of Hind, her relatives, and two ambulance workers from the area.

The Israeli military stated in its report, as quoted by DW and Reuters, Following review of the findings and due to alleged failures in the coordination of the movement of the Palestine Red Crescent ambulance, it has been decided to initiate a criminal investigation of the incident.

Investigation Into the Deaths of 15 Emergency Workers

A second criminal probe focuses on the March 23, 2025, deaths of 15 emergency workers from the Palestine Red Crescent, Palestinian Civil Defense, and the United Nations in Tel al-Sultan, in northern Rafah. DW reported that Israeli troops fired on a first ambulance driving toward casualties, and subsequently fired on other arriving emergency vehicles.

The military report stated that troops were staging an early morning ambush against Hamas militants along a central access route and fired on a vehicle they believed belonged to Hamas. The troops then decided to crush the vehicles and to cover the bodies with metal mesh, according to the military findings cited by DW.

United Nations officials recovered 15 bodies from a grave in the sand near wrecked, marked emergency vehicles. The military report noted that six of the dead were identified as belonging to Hamas, but added that the firing raised a reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct, prompting the criminal probe.

Excluded Cases and Rights Group Response

The military announced it will not open criminal investigations into three other high-profile attacks, including the April 2024 airstrikes on a World Central Kitchen convoy that killed seven aid workers, according to DW and Reuters. The military stated it mistook the movements of those vehicles, despite prior coordination.

Human rights organizations expressed skepticism regarding the newly announced criminal probes. Dan Owen, a researcher with the Israeli rights group Yesh Din, told Reuters that only a tiny proportion of military investigations over the killing of Palestinians lead to indictments, and that growing political pressure deters authorities from holding personnel accountable.

Speaking to Reuters from a displaced persons camp in Gaza City, Hind Rajab’s grandmother stated that her family does not trust the Israeli judiciary. We hope that justice will be from the entire world. We appeal to the international justice system as a whole, she said.