New complaint targets soldier in India
The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF), a Belgian-based organization that monitors social media posts of Israeli soldiers and files legal complaints against them abroad, announced on Wednesday that it has filed a new criminal complaint in India against an Israeli reservist currently vacationing in the country. The complaint, filed on Tuesday, accuses the soldier of involvement in the "unlawful destruction of civilian property" in the Khan Yunis area of Gaza, as reported by both the Jerusalem Post and Middle East Eye.
The organization is asking Indian authorities to investigate the soldier on suspicion of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts of genocide. It is not known whether an investigation has been opened, the Jerusalem Post reported.
Unusually, HRF did not reveal the soldier's identity, including his name, age, initials, military unit, or location in India. The organization did not explain why it withheld these details, a departure from its previous complaints, the Jerusalem Post noted.
The complaint focuses on IDF activity in Abasan al-Saghira, east of Khan Yunis, during March and April 2024. HRF says it has satellite imagery, videos posted on social media, and open-source information indicating widespread destruction carried out after Israeli forces had already achieved operational control, rather than during active combat. The organization claims part of the material originates from footage published by the soldier himself from his service in Gaza.
Second complaint in India
This is the second HRF complaint filed in India in less than three months. In June, the organization filed a complaint against Eitan Gilboa, a soldier with Israel's 271st Combat Engineering Battalion, who was staying in Himachal Pradesh. Gilboa had shared images of his battalion "turning entire neighbourhoods in Gaza into ash and dust" and video of himself celebrating the demolitions, Middle East Eye reported. The Indian government took no action on that complaint, and Gilboa subsequently left the country.
A lawyer who filed the case on behalf of HRF in India told Middle East Eye that India had obligations under the Geneva Conventions and international law that it had to uphold. The lawyer said: "India cannot become a 'second home' where Israeli soldiers accused of grave international crimes travel with impunity, and come to cleanse themselves of accountability after participating in the destruction of Palestinian life in Gaza." The lawyer added: "The obligation is clear: where there are credible allegations of grave breaches of international humanitarian law, India must act."
Dyab Abou Jahjah, founder of HRF, said in a statement that the suspect and his unit carried out the systematic destruction of homes and agricultural land in Gaza. "HRF exists to ensure that no one who participates in genocide escapes justice," he said, as quoted by Middle East Eye.
HRF said its evidence showed that buildings in Abasan al-Saghira were deliberately demolished rather than destroyed during active warfare, and that the demolition pattern aligned with Amnesty International's findings regarding the "buffer zone" destruction along Gaza's eastern perimeter. The organization also connected the demolitions to the continuing expansion of the "Yellow Line" into Gaza.
Broader campaign and track record
The Jerusalem Post, in an analysis of HRF's legal campaign, reported that the organization has been filing complaints and requesting arrest warrants for at least two and a half years, including with the International Criminal Court. HRF's accusations are typically based on social media footage or open-source intelligence. The Post's analysis found that HRF has filed complaints against at least 86 individuals in at least 30 countries. Complaints against 11 of those individuals resulted in substantive action by authorities, around 13%.
Examples of such actions include the detention and questioning of two IDF soldiers at the Tomorrowland Festival in Belgium in July 2025, a case the Belgian Federal Prosecutor referred to the ICC; a criminal investigation opened by Peru's Public Prosecutor's Office in June 2025; and a federal judge's order for Brazil's Federal Police to investigate an IDF soldier in January 2025, though the soldier left the country before police could act. In Chile, an investigation was activated but no charge was made. Soldier and comedian Guy Hochman was detained and questioned in Canada but released. In Lithuania, the Prosecutor General's Office refused to open a pretrial investigation, and in Spain, Central Investigative Court No. 5 rejected a complaint in September 2025. As of August 19, 2026, the Post reported that no foreign indictment, prosecution, trial, or conviction has arisen from an HRF complaint.
The Post described HRF's campaign as operating on two levels: potential legal action against individual soldiers and broader political and reputational pressure. The organization has filed complaints in countries including the Netherlands, Portugal, Italy, Cyprus, Romania, Brazil, Chile, and Sri Lanka.
The IDF Chief of Staff, Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, issued an order on soldiers' use of social media, designed to reduce the risk posed to soldiers by social media posts. The guidelines emphasize that soldiers must not publish footage in uniform or from operational zones in a manner that could expose information or be used against them internationally.
Legal and political context
The complaint comes as tens of thousands of Israelis travel to India each year after completing their mandatory service, many following what is commonly known as the "hummus trail," according to Middle East Eye. The outlet also reported that the Israeli government, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has repeatedly praised India's support over the past two-and-a-half years. India has not backed South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, has not joined calls for an arms embargo, and Indian companies have continued to supply Israel with military components.
In its coverage, Middle East Eye also cited statistics on the humanitarian toll in Gaza since 7 October 2023, reporting that around 250,000 Palestinians have been killed or injured, and that 82 percent of structures have been destroyed or damaged, with 90 percent of energy infrastructure demolished. These figures were not independently verified by other sources in this report.