Israel to open criminal probes into killings of Hind Rajab and Palestinian medics
The Israeli military announced it will open criminal investigations into the killing of five-year-old Hind Rajab and 15 Palestinian paramedics during the Gaza war. Several other high-profile cases, including strikes that killed journalists, were not included.
The Israeli military said on Wednesday it would open criminal investigations into two high-profile incidents in which Palestinians were killed during the war in Gaza — the death of five-year-old Hind Rajab and members of her family, and the killing of 15 Palestinian paramedics.
The decision followed the completion of a review of 150 incidents involving the conduct of Israeli troops in Gaza, with decisions reached in five of them. The statement did not mention several other high-profile cases the military had previously pledged to investigate, including an August 2025 strike on a hospital in southern Gaza that killed five journalists. The military also said it would not pursue criminal investigations into three other incidents involving aid workers from World Central Kitchen and Doctors Without Borders.
How the killings unfolded
Both Rajab's death in February 2024 and the killing of the 15 medics in May 2025 drew international attention. Hind was travelling with six relatives trying to flee Gaza City when Israeli troops opened fire on their vehicle. Her 15-year-old cousin, Layan Hamada, phoned the Palestinian Red Crescent, saying a tank was approaching and that her family had been killed. Moments later, gunfire could be heard before Layan's screams stopped, according to a recording released by the Red Crescent.
Hind initially survived and stayed in contact with the Red Crescent while it sought Israeli military permission to reach her. Twelve days later, she, her relatives and two medics sent to rescue her were found dead.
The 15 paramedics were killed in Rafah after Israeli troops opened fire on ambulances and other emergency vehicles responding to casualties and searching for a missing ambulance, according to phone footage and the sole survivor. Their bodies and damaged vehicles were buried in a mass grave, which UN and rescue workers recovered about a week later.
The Israeli military initially said the vehicles had been "advancing suspiciously" without headlights or emergency signals, but later revised its account after footage showed the vehicles moving with flashing lights and visible Red Crescent and Civil Defence markings.
