The Israeli military will launch internal investigations into the cases in which its members killed five-year-old Palestinian Hind Rajab in Gaza in January 2024, as well as 15 emergency service members and aid workers in March 2025, although human rights organizations say such investigations rarely lead to convictions.
The military said today that the decisions to launch investigations followed reviews by its Fact-Finding and Assessment Mechanism. It published the decisions relating to five incidents in which Palestinians were killed.
Among them was an investigation into the circumstances of the murder of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in April 2024. In relation to that case, the military stated that “there is no reasonable suspicion of a criminal offence that would justify initiating a criminal investigation.”
Israeli human rights organizations report that investigations into possible criminal conduct by Israeli soldiers in cases of killings of Palestinians rarely lead to convictions.
Dan Owen, a researcher at the human rights organization Yesh Din, said that over the past decade only a “negligible” proportion of investigations have led to indictments, while increasing political pressure “further discourages Israeli law enforcement from holding those responsible accountable, even when there is clear evidence.”
During the Israeli offensive launched in response to the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which led to the Gaza War, Hind Rajab was trapped in a car for hours, pleading with Palestinian medics by phone to send help, while her aunt, uncle, and three relatives already lay dead. When an ambulance arrived, contact was lost with both the girl and the rescuers. Twelve days later, the bodies of the girl, her relatives, and two emergency workers were found in the area.
The film about the death of Hind Rajab won the Silver Lion award at the Venice Film Festival and was nominated for an Oscar.
In March 2025, the bodies of 15 emergency workers and aid workers from the Red Crescent, the Palestinian Civil Defense, and the United Nations were found in a sand grave in the southern Gaza Strip, UN officials said at the time.
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher wrote on X.com that the bodies were buried near “destroyed and clearly marked vehicles,” adding: “They were killed by Israeli forces while trying to save lives. We demand answers and justice.”
Israeli forces claim they never intentionally targeted civilians during the Gaza war. They allege that the Palestinian militant group Hamas endangers their lives by using them as cover.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment directly on the Red Crescent worker's death. In a later statement to Reuters, it said it had facilitated the recovery of the bodies from the area, which it described as an active combat zone. It did not specifically answer questions about why the bodies were pulled from under the sand or why the vehicles were found crushed.
Eid Aziz, the Red Crescent's media director, told Reuters:
"More important than launching an investigation is that this should have been prevented. The Palestine Red Crescent symbol is protected under international law, and medical personnel must be protected, especially while carrying out their duties and humanitarian work."
Munter Abed, a Palestinian paramedic who said he was present during the incident in which 15 of his colleagues were killed, told Reuters today that he hopes "those who killed my colleagues, who were like family to me, will face justice, real justice."
“I want to send a message to the whole world: 101 ambulances are not a target and must be protected,” he said, referring to the speed-dial number for the Gaza Red Crescent.
More than 73.000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since the start of the Gaza war in 2023, while thousands more have been killed in Israeli military operations in southern Lebanon. The dead include numerous aid workers, doctors, journalists and others.
The Israeli military, which says its attacks are targeted by Hamas and Hezbollah, launches investigations into individual attacks when civilians, including medical and aid workers or journalists, are killed.
A ceasefire in Gaza, declared in October last year, may have halted major fighting but has not brought an end to Israeli attacks. Israel says its current strikes are aimed at preventing direct attacks by Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups in Gaza.
More than 1.200 Palestinians and four Israeli soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire began, according to health authorities in Gaza and the Israeli military.
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