Israel opens criminal probes into killings of Hind Rajab and Palestinian medics

The Israeli military said on Wednesday it would open criminal investigations into two high-profile incidents involving the killing of Palestinians during the war in Gaza, including five-year-old Hind Rajab and members of her family, as well as 15 Palestinian paramedics.

The announcement came after the military completed reviews of 150 incidents involving the conduct of Israeli troops in Gaza, with decisions reached in five cases.

The statement did not address several other high-profile killings that the military had previously pledged to investigate, including Israeli strikes on a hospital in southern Gaza in August 2025 that killed five journalists.

The military said it would not pursue criminal investigations into three other incidents involving aid workers from World Central Kitchen and Doctors Without Borders.

How did the killings unfold?

Both Rajab’s killing in February 2024 and the killing of 15 Palestinian medics in May 2025 drew international attention.

Rajab was travelling with six relatives as they tried to flee Gaza City when Israeli troops opened fire on their vehicle. Her 15-year-old cousin, Layan Hamada, called the Palestinian Red Crescent, saying a tank was approaching and that her family had been killed.

Seconds later, further gunfire could be heard before Layan’s screams stopped, according to a recording released by the Red Crescent.

Hind initially survived the attack and remained in contact with the Red Crescent as it sought permission from the Israeli military to reach her. 12 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 subsequently buried in a mass grave. UN and rescue workers recovered the remains about a week later.

The Israeli military initially said the vehicles were “advancing suspiciously” without headlights or emergency signals. It later revised its account after footage showed the emergency vehicles moving with flashing lights and visible Red Crescent and Civil Defence markings.

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