LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Israel's military is opening criminal investigations into two attacks during the Gaza war that involve Israeli soldiers killing a Palestinian family, paramedics and rescue workers. It's very rare for Israel's military to pursue criminal inquiries into its own soldiers. And it's just as rare that the cases lead to convictions. NPR's Daniel Estrin reports from Tel Aviv.
DANIEL ESTRIN, BYLINE: The first case Israel is investigating became the subject of an Academy Award-nominated film. The feature film is "The Voice Of Hind Rajab." It tells the story of a 5-year-old girl who called Palestinian paramedics for help.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character) Hello?
ESTRIN: It uses the real-life recordings of her call.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
HIND RAJAB: (Speaking Arabic).
ESTRIN: She called from the car. Her other family members inside were dead. Israeli troops fired on them as they fled Gaza City early in the war in January 2024. As the paramedics set out to rescue the girl, they too were killed by Israeli fire. Later, the girl's body was found. Now, 2 1/2 years later, the Israeli military has announced a criminal investigation. The army said the family was driving contrary to a notice the army had announced to residents and that troops fired at the family's car as it approached them. The army noted, quote, "alleged failures" in coordinating with the Palestinian ambulance crew. The girl's grandmother, also named Hind Rajab, spoke with NPR about Israel's criminal probe.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR CONTENT)
HIND: (Speaking Arabic).
ESTRIN: "We support that it be opened. But there should be justice for all the children and adults of Gaza," she says. But she doesn't believe soldiers would actually be held accountable and said justice should come internationally. The Israeli army also announced another criminal investigation into last year's killing of 15 Palestinian rescue workers in a single Israeli attack. This was in March 2025. Ambulances, a fire truck and a U.N. vehicle were driving to respond to casualties from an Israeli attack when the rescue crews themselves came under Israeli fire. Soldiers then crushed the vehicles and buried the dead in a mass grave, according to the military and the U.N. A cellphone video retrieved from one of the rescue workers' bodies captured his last moments.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Speaking Arabic).
ESTRIN: "Mom," he says, "forgive me. This is the path I chose to help people." The army now says soldiers were preparing an ambush on Hamas militants when they misidentified the rescue vehicles. The army says the soldiers' fire, quote, raises a reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct. Israel's foreign ministry called these tragic incidents during the fighting against terrorists in Gaza. It said the decision to open criminal investigations demonstrates Israel's commitment to accountability. The military has only opened two other criminal probes into soldier misconduct during the war in Gaza. That's according to an Israeli human rights group called Yesh Din. The group's director, Ziv Stahl, says, historically, Israeli military convictions are rare.
ZIV STAHL: The number of indictments being served is almost zero in comparison to the number of complaints against soldiers and commanders who committed crimes. In the even more rare cases where there is a conviction against soldiers or commanders, they get the most ridiculous punishments in comparison to the offenses they commit.
ESTRIN: There are about 150 incidents the army is still reviewing of soldier conduct in Gaza, where health officials say Israel has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians. Israel's army also said there are several killings during the Gaza war that do not justify criminal probes, attacks that killed aid workers from Doctors Without Borders and an attack in April 2024 that killed seven aid workers from World Central Kitchen. That's a U.S. group that provides meals in Gaza. World Central Kitchen called for an independent commission to investigate. It said the Israeli military, quote, "cannot credibly investigate its own conduct."
Daniel Estrin, NPR News, Tel Aviv. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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