• Israel’s military justice system slow, opaque, structured to shield soldiers from accountability, says Drop Site investigation
• Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit compiled over 2,500 videos and photos showing apparent abuses, but these resulted in ‘next to nothing’ in terms of accountability, says news outlet

ISTANBUL 

Israel filed only three criminal indictments against its soldiers for Gaza-related offenses during the first 18 months of its genocide on the enclave, despite extensive documentation of violations, according to a new report by investigative news outlet Drop Site.

Citing six responses to freedom of information requests submitted by Israeli rights group Yesh Din between January 2024 and April 2025, the report said Thursday that the indictments represent the entire output of Israel’s military justice system from October 2023 – when Israel’s Gaza offensive began – through March 2025. Only one case resulted in a conviction, while the two others remain pending.

The report highlighted the case of 5-year-old Hind Rajab, who was killed along with six family members and two rescue workers in Gaza City on Jan. 29, 2024.

Although the Israeli military initially announced an investigation, it later said an initial probe suggested its forces were not present in the area, despite satellite evidence indicating otherwise.

The case was transferred to the General Staff Fact-Finding Assessment mechanism, but “no further findings were ever released and no one was charged,” the report said.  

System designed to ensure immunity

The Drop Site investigation described Israel’s military justice system as slow, opaque, and structured to shield soldiers from accountability.

“We’re not surprised at all by the low number of indictments,” said Yesh Din’s data coordinator Noa Cohen, adding that the few indictments that do occur are “anecdotes” and typically result from “a random action or a coincidence or a specific pressure.”

According to the documents reviewed, as of Aug. 15, 2024, the military had logged 95 formal complaints about Gaza incidents, including cases referencing “hundreds of incidents.”

A total of 1,456 “exceptional incidents” were referred to the fact-finding mechanism, but only 11 were completed, with most cases “remaining under review” without decisions.

By the same date, Israel’s Military Police Criminal Investigation Division had opened 60 criminal investigations and completed 12, leading to a single indictment: a reservist sentenced to seven months in prison for beating blindfolded Palestinian detainees at the Sde Teiman detention center.

The two other indictments – filed in February and March 2025 – concern a soldier accused of looting and five soldiers charged with torturing a handcuffed Palestinian detainee in an incident caught on surveillance camera.    

Widespread violations documented, few investigated

The report noted that Israeli soldiers have posted thousands of videos and photos showing apparent abuses, including the shooting of unarmed civilians, mistreatment of detainees, looting, and arson.

Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit compiled more than 2,500 such posts, but these resulted in “next to nothing” in terms of accountability.

Anadolu has published two books, The Evidence and Witness, presenting proof of Israel war crimes in Gaza since October 2023.

Many mass-casualty strikes, attacks on hospitals, and destruction of civilian infrastructure are never investigated because Israeli doctrine classifies them as “lawful combat operations,” the report said.

Under the laws of war, they are possible war crimes, as sites such as hospitals, houses of worship, and civilian housing are supposed to be exempt from attack. All have been targeted in Israel’s offensive on Gaza.  

Blocking foreign courts

Leaked Justice Ministry documents published by DDOSecrets show Israeli authorities view internal inquiries as a tool to prevent international prosecutions by claiming incidents were already reviewed domestically, even when no criminal action is taken.

This approach relies on the principle of complementarity, which limits the jurisdiction of international courts if a state claims to be conducting its own investigations.  

Human rights groups: Accountability impossible

Israeli human rights groups Yesh Din and B’Tselem stopped cooperating with Israeli military investigations after the 2014 assault on Gaza, saying the system is structurally incapable of prosecuting soldiers or commanders.

A Yesh Din study of three major assaults on Gaza over a decade found that of 664 incidents reviewed, 542 were closed without opening criminal investigations and only one resulted in an indictment.

A separate review by Action on Armed Violence found that 88% of the 52 cases Israel publicly said it would investigate between October 2023 and June 2025 were either closed without findings or left unresolved.  

Growing push for zero accountability

Public opposition in Israel to even minimal prosecutions has intensified. After five soldiers were indicted over the filmed gang rape of a Palestinian detainee at Sde Teiman, protests erupted defending the accused.

In the same context, Military Advocate General Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi resigned, was later arrested, and was accused by Defense Minister Israel Katz of spreading a “blood libel.”

According to Yesh Din’s Cohen, impunity that long existed “in practice” has now become “a concrete demand.”

“The goal is to give the soldiers immunity, not to find those responsible,” she said.

In the attacks in Gaza since October 2023, Israel has killed more than 69,000 people, most of them women and children, and injured over 170,700 others.

In November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over committed atrocities in Gaza.