Israel launches first criminal probes into Gaza killings

JERUSALEM — Israel's military on Wednesday announced its first criminal investigations into troop conduct in Gaza, focusing on the killings of 5-year-old Hind Rajab and her family and of 15 Palestinian paramedics.

The military said it had completed reviews of 150 incidents of troop conduct in Gaza and made decisions on five cases.

The investigations involve killings that drew a heavy international outcry.

Hind was trapped in a vehicle with her slain relatives before she too was killed in February 2024.

The military admitted Wednesday that troops had fired at the car carrying Hind and her relatives, as well as at an ambulance sent to rescue her, killing two medics.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society has insisted on an international investigation, saying "Israeli measures are not enough."

In the killing of the 15 medics in March 2025, Israeli troops fired on an ambulance and other emergency vehicles responding to casualties in southern Gaza. Troops then bulldozed over the bodies and vehicles, burying them in a mass grave.

The Israeli military initially said it opened fire because the vehicles were "advancing suspiciously" on troops without headlights or emergency signals. But it backtracked after footage emerged showing the teams driving slowly with their emergency lights flashing and logos visible. A deputy commander was directed to step down over the killings.

The military also said it would not pursue a criminal investigation into the deaths of seven World Central Kitchen staffers in an April 2024 airstrike, including Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom.

It said individuals in the vehicles were mistakenly identified as armed Hamas operatives, but concluded that the commanders' decisions "did not raise reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct".

Short of accountability

World Central Kitchen founder Jose Andres condemned Wednesday's decision as "wrong and painful".

Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong also expressed "outrage" at the decision on Thursday and summoned Israel's ambassador over the move, saying it was "far short of the accountability we expect".

Following his meeting with Wong, Israeli Ambassador Hillel Newman expressed "deep sorrow and grief" to Frankcom's family but insisted that Israel had no intention to attack or injure the aid workers.

Just 0.17 percent of military investigations launched during three Gaza operations from 2014 to 2022 led to prosecution, according to an analysis by Israeli rights group Yesh Din.

The criminal investigations into the Hind Rajab and paramedic killings will now be taken up by military investigators, who will present their findings to military prosecutors.

The military advocate general can then decide whether to keep investigating, indict any soldiers involved or decline to charge them.

AGENCIES VIA XINHUA