The IDF ordered a full criminal probe into the killing of Hind Rajab on Wednesday, after Itay Offir decided that officials involved in coordinating an ambulance were at least grossly negligent. The case moves from review into criminal investigation as the Military Advocate-General's Corps issued its first landmark war crimes report since October 7.
Hind Rajab in Gaza City
Hind Rajab, a Palestinian child, became known worldwide because she called outside officials for help. Recordings show her surviving an initial strike on her family before the later decision to continue the probe as a full criminal case.
The killing of nine members of the Hamada family, including Rajab, took place in Gaza City on January 29, 2024. That sequence now sits inside a wider report that addressed over 150 probes and set out how five major cases were handled.
Military Advocate-General's Corps report
The report covered the WCK saga, the Islamic Red Crescent saga, and three other major cases. The investigations into those five major cases led to two criminal probes, two disciplinary probes, and the closure of one case.
In the WCK saga, the IDF upheld the earlier decision by then-IDF chief Herzi Halevi that the errors should lead to disciplinary measures but were not a crime. The report said WCK was unreachable for 30 minutes when the IDF tried to call to clarify the situation, while IDF surveillance officials misidentified WCK security officials as Hamas and misidentified unarmed WCK officials as armed after they entered the WCK vehicles at a midpoint in their travel.
Offir and the next probe
Offir did not make the decision in the WCK incident, but he did order the Hind Rajab file to remain a full criminal probe. The split outcome matters because the same report treated one major case as a disciplinary matter while elevating Rajab's killing into criminal scrutiny.
The report also said 150 cases are under criminal investigation, a jump from the around 100 cases The Jerusalem Post was told about on June 18. That leaves the Hind Rajab probe moving forward without a stated deadline, with the criminal review now focused on the ambulance-coordination decisions that Offir judged at least grossly negligent.
