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. However, human rights organizations cautioned that such inquiries rarely result in convictions.
The military’s decision to launch investigations followed assessments by its Fact-Finding and Assessment Mechanism, with outcomes disclosed for five incidents involving Palestinian fatalities. Among these cases was a review of the deaths of seven aid workers affiliated with the World Central Kitchen charity in April 2024. The military stated that there was no substantial basis to warrant a criminal investigation in this particular incident.
Stressing the complexity of their operational reality, the Israeli military highlighted its ongoing combat engagements across various fronts for over a thousand days. The military stated that it is obligated by international and domestic laws to scrutinize exceptional incidents that occur during combat.
The killings of Hind Rajab in February 2024 and the 15 Palestinian medics in May 2025 garnered global attention. Nonetheless, Israeli rights groups expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of criminal misconduct investigations involving Israeli troops in Palestinian fatalities, citing low conviction rates.
Reacting to the military’s announcement, Hind Rajab’s grandmother, also named Hind Rajab, expressed disbelief, emphasizing a lack of trust in Israel’s ability to conduct a fair investigation. She called on other countries to probe the circumstances surrounding her granddaughter’s death and that of other children in Gaza, demanding accountability for the soldiers responsible.
UNICEF reported in October that at least 64,000 Palestinian children had suffered casualties since the onset of the Gaza conflict in October 2023. Additionally, a United Nations Human Rights Council report in June accused Israeli security forces of intentionally targeting and killing Palestinian children in Gaza, a claim that Israel vehemently rejected as propaganda.
During Israel’s offensive following a Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, Hind Rajab was trapped in a car for hours, pleading for help via phone while her relatives and ambulance workers lay dead. An ambulance eventually arrived, but communication with the girl and rescuers was lost. The bodies were recovered twelve days later, sparking international outrage and leading to the production of a film that garnered critical acclaim.
In March 2025, 15 emergency and aid workers were discovered in a grave in southern Gaza. UN officials condemned their deaths, attributing them to Israeli forces while the workers were engaged in life-saving efforts. The Red Crescent emphasized the protection of its staff under international laws, calling for accountability and prevention of such tragedies.
Israeli forces maintained that they did not target civilians deliberately and blamed Hamas for endangering lives by using civilians as shields. The military facilitated the removal of the bodies from an active combat zone but did not address inquiries regarding the circumstances of the deaths and the condition of the vehicles found at the site.
Eid Aziz, media director for the Red Crescent, stressed the importance of preventing such incidents, underscoring the safeguarding of medical staff and their humanitarian mission under international laws.
