Israel opens criminal investigations into Hind Rajab killing and deaths of 15 medics

The Israeli military has announced criminal investigations into two high-profile killings in Gaza: the death of five-year-old Hind Rajab in January 2024 and the killing of 15 Palestinian paramedics in March 2025. The decision, announced on Wednesday, marks the first time Israel has opened criminal probes into its troops' conduct during the war.

In the same statement, the military said it would not open criminal investigations into three other attacks that killed aid workers from World Central Kitchen and Doctors Without Borders. It said it had completed reviews of 150 incidents of troop conduct in Gaza and made decisions on five cases.

Chef José Andrés, founder of World Central Kitchen, condemned the decision on X as "wrong and painful." The two cases under investigation drew heavy international outcry.

The killing of Hind Rajab

Hind Rajab was one of seven family members travelling in a car that came under Israeli fire in Gaza City on January 29, 2024. The military has now acknowledged for the first time that its troops fired at the vehicle, which was carrying the girl, four of her cousins, and her aunt and uncle as they fled an Israeli offensive into the city.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had previously denied involvement, saying months later that a preliminary investigation found its forces were "not present near the vehicle or within firing range."

According to the military's statement, troops "fired at a vehicle that was approaching them." It said the initial fire killed five passengers, while Hind and her cousin Layan Hamada survived.

Hind's 15-year-old cousin Layan called the Palestinian Red Crescent paramedic centre, telling them a tank was approaching and that her family had been killed. According to a Red Crescent recording of the call, more gunshots were heard seconds later, and Layan's screaming stopped.

Palestinian paramedics dispatched an ambulance to rescue Hind, who was the only survivor in the stranded car, and stayed on the line with her until contact was lost. The ambulance also came under fire, and the military has admitted troops fired toward it, killing two medics.

Hind, her five relatives and the two medics were found dead 12 days later. Her body was recovered from a car riddled with bullets.

The IDF said it decided to initiate a criminal investigation following a review of findings and "due to alleged failures in the coordination of the movement of the Palestine Red Crescent ambulance." The probe will be conducted by the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division.

Hind's grandmother, also named Hind Rajab, told The Associated Press by phone that the Israeli investigation is not enough and called for an international probe. "An international investigation is required to uncover the truth and hold all those responsible accountable," she said. "We call for justice, not only for Hind, but for all Gaza children."

The death of Hind Rajab, whose desperate phone calls were recorded and broadcast, drew international condemnation. A film about the incident, "The Voice of Hind Rajab," was nominated for an Oscar.

The Hind Rajab Foundation, named after the girl, said it had "no confidence" in the Israeli military probe, stating it should not be mistaken for a genuine step toward justice. Dyab Abou Jahjah, the foundation's director, told Al Jazeera he considered the military investigations a "charade meant to whitewash the culprits instead of convicting them."

The killing of 15 medics

The second criminal investigation concerns the killing of 15 Palestinian medics and emergency responders in southern Gaza. According to reports, Israeli troops opened fire on an ambulance driving to retrieve casualties from an offensive in the city of Rafah, then fired on other emergency vehicles that came looking for the first one.

The military said the firing raises "reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct." It said soldiers opened fire on several rescue vehicles in the Tel al-Sultan refugee camp over 90 minutes, including a fire truck, ambulances, and a Palestinian UN vehicle.

The IDF killed 15 Palestinians in the incident, six of whom it said were Hamas militants. It conceded "medical personnel and paramedics" were among the victims. A commander was reprimanded, and a deputy commander was fired.

According to phone footage and the sole survivor, troops initially shot at an ambulance, then fired on other emergency vehicles, and later bulldozed over the bodies and vehicles, burying them in a mass grave. UN and rescue workers reached the site a week later to dig out the bodies.

The Palestine Red Crescent called for an "independent international commission of inquiry" to uncover the circumstances. A Red Crescent spokesman, Raed al-Nims, said "Israeli measures are not enough" and insisted on an international investigation.

Jonathan Whittall, a UN official, said of the medics: "They were killed in their uniforms... This should never have happened." Munther Abed, a Palestinian paramedic who survived, said he hoped those who killed his colleagues face "real justice."

The military initially said it opened fire because the vehicles were "advancing suspiciously" without headlights or emergency signals, but backtracked after footage showed the Red Crescent and civil defence teams driving slowly with emergency lights flashing.

Broader context and reactions

The announcement comes nearly three years after the war began. Israeli strikes continue in Gaza despite a fragile ceasefire. Israel's campaign has killed more than 73,000 people, including tens of thousands of women and children, according to the territory's Health Ministry.

Rights groups and UN commissions have said the campaign amounts to genocide and that Israeli forces have committed a litany of war crimes. Israel denies accusations of genocide and war crimes, saying it is targeting Hamas after its October 2023 attack on southern Israel. It blames civilian deaths on Hamas because the group operates in populated areas.

Israeli officials contend its justice system can address any violations by its troops, but rights groups say soldiers are almost never held accountable. Dan Owen, a researcher in the Yesh Din rights organisation, said that over the last decade only a "tiny" proportion of investigations had led to indictments, while growing political pressure "further deters Israeli law-enforcement authorities from holding those responsible accountable, even when clear evidence does exist."

A Human Rights Watch spokesperson said: "A system that overwhelmingly closes cases without accountability, years after the fact, and only in response to sustained international pressure, is not justice, it's a whitewash."

The military's statement did not mention many other high-profile killings that Israel has pledged to investigate, such as strikes on a hospital in southern Gaza that killed five journalists in August 2025, including Mariam Dagga.

The IDF's findings were published by the General Staff Fact-Finding and Assessment Mechanism, which is responsible for initial investigations into suspected war crimes. The information released represents the largest disclosure by the IDF relating to civilian deaths since the war began.