A recent report by the conflict monitoring group Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) has raised serious concerns about Israel’s handling of alleged war crimes and abuses committed by its soldiers in Gaza. According to AOAV, nearly nine out of 10 Israeli military investigations into such allegations have been closed without finding fault or left without resolution. This has led to accusations that Israel is seeking to create a “pattern of impunity” by failing to conclude or find fault in the vast majority of cases involving severe or public accusations of wrongdoing by its forces.
The AOAV report identified 52 cases in English-language media where the Israeli military said it had conducted or would conduct an investigation after allegations of civilian harm or wrongdoing by its forces in Gaza or the West Bank between October 2023 and June 2025. These cases involved the deaths of 1,303 Palestinians and the wounding of 1,880. However, only one case resulted in a prison sentence for an Israeli soldier, while five other cases ended with violations found.
Some of the unresolved investigations include the killing of at least 112 Palestinians queueing for flour in Gaza City in February 2024, an airstrike that killed 45 in an inferno at a tented camp in Rafah in May 2024, and the killing of 31 Palestinians going to pick up food at a distribution point in Rafah on June 1. In the latter incident, witnesses reported that Israeli forces opened fire, while the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) initially claimed the reports were “false” before stating that the incident was “still under review”.
Iain Overton and Lucas Tsantzouris, the team at AOAV, argue that the statistics suggest Israel is seeking to create a “pattern of impunity” by failing to conclude or find fault in the vast majority of cases involving severe or public accusations of wrongdoing by its forces. “The statistics suggested Israel was seeking to create a ‘pattern of impunity’ by failing to conclude or find no fault in the vast majority of cases involving ‘the most severe or public accusations of wrongdoing by their forces’,” they said.
The IDF claims to conduct examination and investigation processes regarding exceptional incidents that occurred during operational activity, in which there is a suspicion of a violation of the law, in accordance with its obligations under Israeli and international law. However, critics argue that the IDF’s investigation process is flawed, with fact-finding assessments (FFA) taking years and leading to few prosecutions.
According to the Yesh Din human rights group, FFA investigations have led to only one known prosecution after 664 inquiries relating to previous IDF military operations in Gaza. The IDF’s statistics differ from the investigations tracked by AOAV, as the research group used a different methodology, reviewing episodes where there were reports of an investigation being or having been conducted and also taking in incidents on the West Bank as well as Gaza.
The AOAV report highlights the need for greater accountability and transparency in Israel’s handling of alleged war crimes and abuses committed by its soldiers in Gaza. The lack of resolution in the vast majority of cases raises serious concerns about Israel’s commitment to upholding international law and protecting civilian lives. As the conflict continues, it is essential to ensure that those responsible for violations are held accountable, and measures are taken to prevent future abuses.