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Israeli Military Opens Criminal Probes into Killings of Hind Rajab and Gaza Aid Workers

evening · · thread: Israeli Strikes in Gaza Kill Several, Including Children

19 sources across 13 countries

Who reported this

  • BBC News United Kingdom · Centre · Public · Licence fee, royal charter
  • Financial Times United Kingdom · Centre · Nikkei Inc.
  • Reuters United Kingdom · Centre · Thomson Reuters Corporation
  • CNN United States · Centre-left · Warner Bros. Discovery
  • Al-Monitor United States · Centre · Jamal Daniel
  • Associated Press United States · Centre · Non-profit news cooperative
  • CNN Brasil Brazil · Centre · Rubens Menin (MRV)
  • Folha de S.Paulo Brazil · Centre · Grupo Folha (Frias family)
  • Der Spiegel Germany · Centre-left · ~50% staff-owned
  • Deutsche Welle Germany · Centre · Public · German federal public-law corporation
  • South China Morning Post Hong Kong · Centre-right · Alibaba Group
  • Telex Hungary · Centre · Reader-funded, staff-owned
  • Scroll.in India · Left · Scroll Media Inc, reader-funded
  • The Jerusalem Post Israel · Centre-right · Mirkaei Tikshoret (Eli Azur)
  • ANSA Italy · Centre · Publisher cooperative
  • Aftenposten Norway · Centre-right · Schibsted, Tinius Trust foundation
  • Dawn Pakistan · Centre-left · Pakistan Herald Publications (Haroon family)
  • Business Day South Africa · Centre-right · Arena Holdings (Lebashe Investment Group)
  • El Pais Spain · Centre-left · Grupo PRISA

What the colours mean

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  • Centre-left
  • Centre
  • Centre-right
  • Right
  • A hatched block means the outlet is affiliated with, or controlled by, a state.

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The Israeli military announced on Wednesday that it is launching criminal investigations into the deaths of five year old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab and 15 emergency and aid workers in Gaza. The decision follows a review of 150 incidents by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Fact Finding and Assessment Mechanism. In the case of Hind Rajab, the IDF admitted for the first time that its troops opened fire on the vehicle carrying the child and her family in January 2024. The military stated that the criminal probe is being initiated due to alleged failures in the coordination of the Palestine Red Crescent ambulance sent to rescue her. Rajab had survived the initial attack and spent hours on the phone pleading for help before her body was recovered twelve days later along with six family members and two paramedics. The incident became a global symbol of the conflict and inspired the Oscar nominated film The Voice of Hind Rajab.

The military also opened a criminal probe into the March 2025 killing of 15 paramedics and first responders in northern Rafah. The IDF previously claimed the vehicles were driving suspiciously, but later acknowledged professional failures after video emerged showing the convoy using flashing lights. The military report noted that troops crushed the vehicles and covered the bodies with metal mesh, though it also claimed that six of the deceased were identified as Hamas members.

Conversely, the IDF declined to open criminal investigations into three other high profile incidents. These include the April 2024 killing of seven World Central Kitchen employees and two separate incidents involving four Doctors Without Borders staff. The military concluded there was no reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct in these cases, citing misidentification of targets as Hamas militants or deviations from planned routes.

Human rights organizations and some observers have expressed skepticism regarding the probes. A spokesperson for the Israeli rights group Yesh Din stated that indictments are rarely served and convictions often result in lenient sentences. The IDF defended its process by stating that it examines exceptional incidents as part of its obligations under international and domestic law while operating in an exceptionally complex operational reality.

How each side framed it

Left
Framed the killings within the broader context of alleged genocide and the high death toll of children in Gaza.
Centre-left
Highlighted the emotional nature of Hind Rajab's pleas and the contradictions in the IDF's initial claims.
Centre
Focused on the official IDF announcements and the specific details of the investigations and closures.
Centre-right
Emphasized the scale of the IDF's overall review process and the specific operational justifications for the attacks.

Sources

100% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.