Israel’s military announced on Wednesday that it would 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. These probes were initiated following assessments by the Fact-Finding and Assessment Mechanism within the military, which made decisions on five incidents involving Palestinian fatalities.
Among the incidents reviewed was the killing of seven aid workers affiliated with the World Central Kitchen charity in April 2024. The military concluded that there was insufficient evidence of criminal wrongdoing to warrant a criminal investigation.
The Israeli military cited the challenging operational environment it faces, engaging in various military missions across multiple fronts for over a thousand days. As part of its legal obligations, the military examines exceptional incidents that occur during combat, as stated by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF).
The deaths of Hind Rajab in February 2024 and the 15 Palestinian medics in May 2025 garnered international attention. However, Israeli rights groups expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of investigations into alleged criminal misconduct, suggesting that convictions are rare.
The grandmother of Hind Rajab, also named Hind Rajab, expressed disbelief at the announcement of the investigations by Israel, stating a lack of trust in their ability to conduct a fair inquiry. She called for other countries to investigate the circumstances surrounding her granddaughter’s death and those of other children in Gaza, emphasizing the need for accountability and protection of children’s rights.
According to UNICEF, as of last October, at least 64,000 Palestinian children have been killed or injured since the Gaza conflict began in October 2023. The United Nations Human Rights Council’s report in June accused Israeli security forces of deliberately targeting and killing Palestinian children in Gaza, a claim rejected by Israel as propaganda.
During the Israeli offensive in response to a Hamas-led attack in October 2023, Hind Rajab was trapped in a car for hours, pleading for help via phone while her family members lay dead nearby. An ambulance eventually arrived, but contact was lost, leading to the discovery of the bodies days later.
A film depicting Hind Rajab’s tragic story received international acclaim, winning the Silver Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival and earning an Academy Award nomination. In March 2025, the bodies of 15 emergency and aid workers were found in a grave in the south of Gaza, prompting calls for justice from UN officials.
Israeli forces deny deliberately targeting civilians in the Gaza conflict, attributing civilian casualties to Hamas using them as shields. The military facilitated the retrieval of the workers’ bodies but did not directly address questions about the circumstances of their deaths. Red Crescent officials stressed the protection of medical staff under international law and the importance of preventing such tragedies.