Gaza Herald _ The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said the Israeli military has acknowledged key facts surrounding the killing of 35 Palestinians in Gaza while protecting those responsible from meaningful accountability.
In a statement Thursday, the rights group said the five cases involved the killing of World Central Kitchen workers, the killing of six-year-old Hind Rajab and members of her family, and attacks on medical and UN personnel.
According to the group, Israel’s military investigation system opened only two criminal investigations while closing three other cases without pursuing criminal proceedings.
The monitor said the findings reproduced a broader pattern of denial and misleading public narratives, while creating a legal shield for Israeli military commanders. It pointed to a lack of independence and transparency in the investigations, as well as the failure to establish individual and command responsibility.
World Central Kitchen Case Closed
The group said Israel closed its investigation into the killing of World Central Kitchen workers despite acknowledging serious failures.
It said no criminal investigation was opened into three consecutive strikes involved in the incident, leaving major questions about responsibility and decision-making unanswered.
Hind Rajab Case
The investigation into the killing of six-year-old Hind Rajab, according to the monitor, focused on failures in coordinating emergency medical services while overlooking the shooting that struck her family’s vehicle.
The group said the circumstances surrounding the child’s death require a broader investigation into the direct use of force against the vehicle and those inside it.
Tel al-Sultan Massacre
Regarding the killing of Palestinian rescue workers in Tel al-Sultan, the rights group said available visual evidence contradicts the Israeli military’s account.
It said rescue crews were subjected to roughly 910 rounds of gunfire and that the crushing of emergency vehicles and partial burial of the bodies raised separate concerns about possible efforts to conceal or tamper with evidence.
Attack on Doctors Without Borders Shelter
The monitor also examined an Israeli strike on a shelter housing medical workers affiliated with Doctors Without Borders.
It said the investigation relied on assumptions about a potential threat and a lack of sufficient evidence before the case was closed without accountability.
The group also challenged the Israeli explanation for the deaths of people traveling in a convoy operated by the organization, which attributed the incident to the ricochet of warning shots. Survivors, it said, described the attack as direct and deliberate.
Calls for International Investigation
The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said the five incidents should be viewed as interconnected elements of a broader pattern of Israeli violations against Palestinians in Gaza.
It urged the international community not to treat the conclusions of Israeli military investigations as proof that accountability has taken place or as grounds for obstructing international investigations.
The group called for international investigative bodies to be granted access to Gaza to conduct comprehensive investigations into attacks targeting civilians and humanitarian workers.
It also urged the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to examine the five cases as potential war crimes and expand the investigation to include the crime of genocide.
The rights group said meaningful accountability requires independent investigations capable of examining not only individual incidents, but also the command structures and policies behind repeated attacks on Palestinian civilians and humanitarian personnel.
