SAFA — The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has strongly criticized Israeli military investigations into five deadly attacks by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip that killed 35 people, including children, medical personnel and humanitarian workers, stressing that the investigations fell far short of the standards required for independent, credible and effective criminal probes.

The incidents include the April 2024 killing of seven World Central Kitchen workers; the January 2024 killing of Palestinian child Hind Rajab, members of her family and rescuers who attempted to reach them; the March 2025 killing of 15 Palestinian Red Crescent and Civil Defense personnel and a UN employee in Tal al-Sultan; the shelling of a Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) shelter in al-Mawasi; and gunfire targeting an MSF evacuation convoy in November 2023.

The Israeli military opened criminal investigations into the Hind Rajab and Tal al-Sultan cases but declined to launch criminal investigations into the other three incidents.

Euro-Med Monitor said Israeli military reviews conducted through a mechanism operating under the General Staff should not be considered equivalent to completed criminal investigations.

It also raised concerns about the mechanism’s independence and impartiality, arguing that internal military reviews are insufficient when incidents involve potentially serious violations of international law.

World Central Kitchen Attack

In the World Central Kitchen case, the Israeli military acknowledged serious operational failures but concluded that there was no suspicion of criminal wrongdoing.

Euro-Med Monitor challenged that conclusion, arguing that three consecutive strikes on the humanitarian convoy should have prompted renewed verification of the targets, particularly after survivors moved between vehicles.

The organization said the circumstances warranted a criminal investigation to determine how the vehicles were identified, what orders were issued and why the strikes continued.

Hind Rajab Crime

The rights group also disputed Israeli military findings concerning the killing of Hind Rajab and her family.

It said earlier Israeli military claims that no Israeli forces were present near the vehicle conflicted with technical evidence and called for a comprehensive criminal investigation into the entire sequence of events.

Such an investigation, it said, should examine both the shooting of the family’s vehicle and the subsequent attack on the ambulance sent to rescue the children.

Tal al-Sultan Killings

Regarding the killings in Tal al-Sultan, Euro-Med Monitor said video and forensic evidence contradicted the Israeli military’s initial account that emergency vehicles approached its forces without lights or warning signals.

The organization called for each shooting to be investigated separately, including efforts to identify the weapons used and the orders issued to troops.

It also called for an examination of testimonies concerning the destruction and burial of the vehicles and victims involved in the incident.

Attacks Involving MSF

Euro-Med Monitor further criticized the Israeli military’s handling of the two incidents involving Médecins Sans Frontières, saying the available findings relied heavily on assumptions and failed to adequately address evidence provided by survivors and the medical organization.

It called for criminal investigations into both cases to establish the circumstances surrounding the attacks and determine whether individual or command responsibility was involved.

Calls for International Accountability

Euro-Med Monitor said the five cases point to a broader institutional pattern in which alleged Israeli violations undergo lengthy internal military reviews before being characterized as operational errors, allowing cases to be closed without meaningful criminal accountability.

It stressed that Israeli military reviews should not prevent independent international investigations.

The organization called on the International Criminal Court and UN investigative bodies to independently investigate the incidents, secure access to evidence and witnesses, and assess individual and command responsibility for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Israeli occupation forces in Gaza.