Israel to Investigate Two Attacks in Gaza War

Israel’s military announced plans on Wednesday to initiate criminal investigations into two significant attacks on Palestinians during the Gaza conflict. These include the death of 6-year-old Hind Rajab and her family, as well as 15 Palestinian paramedics. However, the military decided not to pursue investigations into three other strikes that resulted in the deaths of aid workers from World Central Kitchen and Doctors Without Borders.

The military revealed the findings in a statement after reviewing 150 incidents of troop conduct in Gaza, making judgments on five particular cases. The statement did not address other notable incidents that had previously been promised investigations.

Among the cases gaining international attention, Rajab was killed in February 2024 along with her relatives during an attempt to flee Gaza City. Israeli forces fired on a vehicle carrying Hind, her cousins, and her aunt and uncle. Hind’s cousin, Layan Hamada, made a call to the Palestinian Red Crescent paramedic center, reporting an approaching tank and her family’s deaths. Hind survived initial gunfire, but contact was lost as Red Crescent personnel tried to secure rescue access. Her body, along with her relatives and two medics, was found 12 days later.

In May 2025, 15 paramedics died when troops opened fire on their vehicles in Rafah. The military claimed to have fired because the vehicles were advancing suspiciously without lights or signals. However, phone footage later emerged, undermining that claim and showing emergency lights were indeed flashing and logos visible. Troops had buried the victims in a mass grave, with rescue workers accessing the site a week later to retrieve the bodies.

We are not obligated to prove the truth because it is already proven to the whole world. We shouldn’t have reached this point if they respected and followed international humanitarian law.—Eid Azizi, Palestinian Red Crescent spokesperson

The conflict began on October 7, 2023, following an attack by Hamas-led militants in southern Israel, resulting in 1,200 fatalities, mostly civilians, and 251 kidnappings. Subsequent Israeli military action against Hamas in Gaza has reportedly caused over 73,000 deaths, as per the Gaza Health Ministry. The Ministry further reports at least 1,273 deaths in Gaza since a ceasefire took effect in October, emphasizing that women and children represent about half of the deceased. The figures provided by the Ministry, part of the Hamas-led government, are largely considered credible by U.N. agencies and independent experts.