Israel Orders Criminal Probes Into Gaza Child, Paramedic Deaths

Israel's military announced on Wednesday that it would launch criminal investigations into two separate attacks on Palestinians in Gaza that drew international condemnation. The cases involve the killing of five-year-old Hind Rajab and her family, and the deaths of 15 Palestinian paramedics. The decisions come after a review of 150 incidents of troop conduct in the conflict, the military said.

However, the military confirmed that it would not pursue criminal investigations into three other incidents that killed aid workers from World Central Kitchen and Doctors Without Borders. The statement did not address several other high-profile killings that the military had previously pledged to investigate, including an Israeli strike on a hospital in southern Gaza in August 2025 that killed five journalists, including Mariam Dagga, a visual journalist who freelanced for the Associated Press and other news organisations.

The killing of Hind Rajab in February 2024 and the killing of the 15 medics in May 2025 have both drawn widespread attention due to the circumstances surrounding the deaths.

Hind Rajab was killed alongside her relatives while attempting to flee Gaza City during an Israeli offensive. According to reports, Israeli troops opened fire on the vehicle carrying Hind, four of her cousins, and her aunt and uncle. Her 15-year-old cousin, Layan Hamada, called the Palestinian Red Crescent paramedic centre during the incident, saying that a tank was approaching and that her family had been killed. The recording of the call captures further gunshots seconds later, followed by silence. Hind was the only survivor in the car.

The Red Crescent remained in contact with Hind as they sought permission from the military to send a rescue team. Contact was eventually lost. Twelve days later, the bodies of Hind, her five relatives, and two paramedics who had attempted to reach them were found.

The second case involves the deaths of 15 Palestinian paramedics in the southern city of Rafah. According to phone footage and the testimony of the sole survivor, Israeli troops opened fire on the first ambulance that was driving to retrieve casualties from an Israeli offensive. When other emergency vehicles went out to search for the first one, they too were fired upon. Troops subsequently bulldozed the bodies and the mangled vehicles into a mass grave. UN and rescue workers were only able to reach the site a week later to recover the bodies.

The Israeli military initially stated that it opened fire because the vehicles were “advancing suspiciously” on nearby troops without headlights or emergency signals. But after footage emerged showing the Red Crescent and Civil Defence teams driving slowly with their emergency lights flashing and logos clearly visible, the military backtracked from that account.

Eid Azizi, a Palestinian Red Crescent spokesperson, told the Associated Press in a phone call: “We are not obligated to prove the truth because it is already proven to the whole world. We shouldn't have reached this point if they respected and followed the international humanitarian law.”

The military's decision to launch criminal investigations in these two cases marks a rare step in the ongoing conflict, but human rights groups have repeatedly called for independent and transparent inquiries into all incidents involving civilian deaths. The lack of criminal probes into the aid worker deaths has also raised concerns among international observers about accountability. The military has not provided further details on the scope or timeline of the investigations.