Israel’s military announced on Wednesday that it will conduct internal investigations into the deaths of Palestinian girl Hind Rajab in January 2024 and 15 emergency and aid workers in March 2025 in Gaza. While rights groups expressed skepticism about the outcome, the military stated that the decisions to investigate were based on inquiries by its Fact-Finding and Assessment Mechanism, which looked into five incidents involving Palestinian fatalities.
Among the cases reviewed was the killing of seven aid workers affiliated with the World Central Kitchen charity in April 2024. The military concluded that there was no evidence of criminal misconduct warranting a criminal investigation in that instance.
The Israeli military emphasized the challenges it faces in carrying out various military operations in a complex operational environment for over a thousand days. It stated that as part of its obligations under international and domestic laws, it scrutinizes exceptional incidents that occur during combat.
The deaths of Hind Rajab in February 2024 and the 15 Palestinian medics in May 2025 drew significant international attention. However, Israeli rights groups pointed out that investigations into alleged criminal misconduct by Israeli troops rarely result in convictions.
According to a spokesperson for the Israeli rights organization Yesh Din, very few soldiers or commanders are indicted despite numerous complaints. When convictions do occur, the sentences are often perceived as lenient given the gravity of the offenses.
During Israel’s response to a Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, Hind Rajab was trapped in a car for hours, pleading for help from Palestinian medics via phone while her family members had already perished. After an ambulance eventually arrived, communication with the girl and the rescuers was lost. It took twelve days to recover the bodies of the girl, her relatives, and two ambulance workers from the location.
