Nearly 9 out of 10 Israeli army investigations into complaints about war crimes or abuse of power by Israeli soldiers, which have been held since the start of the Gaza war, have been closed without responsibility or remain unresolved, according to Action on Action on ARMED.

Unresolved cases include the massacre of at least 112 Palestinians waiting in the queue to get flour in the city of Gaza in February 2024, as well as the air raid that caused the deadly fire in the Rafa camp, killing 45.

Another case that remains open is the murder of 31 Palestinians on June 1, while they came to a food distribution point in Rafa.

According to eyewitnesses, deaths came from fire from Israeli soldiers. Israel’s army initially described the reports as “false”, but then told the Guardian that the incident “is still under investigation”.

The authors of the report, Ian Overton and Lucas Tsantzouris, point out that evidence suggests that Israel is promoting a “impunity policy”, with the aim of avoiding responsibility even in cases concerning serious or publicly known complaints.

What does Israeli Army answer

Israeli defense forces (IDF) argue, for their part, that “they are conducting investigations into exceptional incidents that have taken place in operations that are suspected of violating the law”, as required under Israeli and international law.

The Israeli Army also stresses that it has internal mechanisms for war complaints for war crimes, such as the Attorney General’s Office and the General Staff’s FFA.

However, according to AOAV researchers, investigations have become more opaque and slow, as the number of dead civilians in Gaza increases.

Just a conviction, dozens of open cases

AOAV has identified 52 cases in international English -speaking media, in which the Israeli army either said it was conducting an investigation or that it has already begun the process, following complaints about civilian deaths or other violations in Gaza and the West Bank between October 20 and 20, 20 and 20 October. 1,880 people.

Of these, in a single case it led to a prison sentence. This is the case of a reserve soldier, who was sentenced to seven months in prison for abuse of Palestinian prisoners at the Snd -Timan detention center – they were beating them while they were tied with covered eyes.

In other five cases, disciplinary violations were found. In one of them, Israel abandoned a colonel and a Major and imposed disciplinary measures on three other officers after an air attack that claimed the lives of seven workers of the World Central Kitchen organization in April. The army described the attack as a “serious mistake” because of “incorrect recognition”, but the humanitarian organization complained that the army had conducted the investigation with a lot of hurry and questioned its credibility.

Of the other 46 cases, which make up 88% of the total, seven closed without the responsibility of the soldiers. Another 39 cases remain open or the results of the investigations have not been announced, including four incidents that took place last month, in which Palestinians were killed near or at various food distribution points in the Gaza Strip.

The IDFs emphasize that “for any report … complaint or claim that suggests inappropriate behavior of the IDF forces a preliminary examination is carried out, regardless of its source. In some cases, the evidence leads to criminal investigation by the military police, while in others an initial investigation is carried out.

Specifically, the latter are entrusted to the FFA for evaluating whether there is a “reasonable suspicion of criminal behavior”.

Time -consuming surveys

Organizations, such as the Human Rights Organization Yesh Din, complain that these mechanisms are time -consuming and almost ineffective. From 664 corresponding cases of older military operations in Gaza, 2014, 2018–2019 and 2021, only for one prosecution.

In August 2024, the IDF announced that the FFA had gathered information on hundreds of incidents only from the Gaza war, but the military prosecutor’s office had launched investigations into 74 cases of possible criminal liability.

Of these, the 52 cases concern deaths or abuse of prisoners, 13 are ammo stolen and few involve alleged war crimes. Three relate to “destruction of political property without justifying military action” and six relate to “allegations of illegal use of force”.

The statistical methodology of the Israeli army differs from that followed by Aoav. AOAV is based on media reports in cases announced or stated that they are being investigated, and concern incidents that took place in both Gaza and West Bank.

The IDFs, for their part, point out that “dozens of military police investigations are ongoing” and that the FFA has completed dozens of ratings, with some being forwarded for a possible criminal investigation.