Israel's military will investigate killings of Hind Rajab and Palestinian paramedics

Key Points:

• Israel’s military announced its first criminal investigations into troop conduct in the Gaza war, focusing on the killings of 5-year-old Hind Rajab and her family, and 15 Palestinian paramedics, amid international outcry and allegations of potential war crimes.
• The military admitted to firing on Rajab’s family vehicle and an ambulance sent to rescue her, resulting in the deaths of Rajab, her relatives, and two medics; it also acknowledged firing on paramedics’ vehicles in Rafah, leading to 15 deaths and the burial of bodies in a mass grave.
• Despite these investigations, Israel decided not to pursue criminal probes into attacks that killed aid workers from World Central Kitchen and Doctors Without Borders, citing lack of reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct, though some military personnel were disciplined.
• The military’s statement comes nearly three years into the conflict, which began with a Hamas attack in October 2023 and has since resulted in over 73,000 deaths in Gaza, with Israeli strikes continuing despite a fragile ceasefire.
• Rajab’s grandmother and human rights groups have called for an international investigation into the killings of children and civilians in Gaza, criticizing Israel’s internal probe as insufficient to ensure accountability.