OCCUPIED PALESTINE — Nearly nine out of ten Israeli military investigations into war crimes or abuses committed in Gaza and the West Bank have ended without any finding of fault or remain unresolved. This is according to new data shared with The Guardian by the UK-based conflict monitor Action on Armed Violence (AOAV). The statistics raise serious concerns about what researchers describe as a “pattern of impunity,” particularly in cases involving large numbers of civilian deaths.
Among the unresolved investigations is the killing of at least 112 Palestinians who were queuing for flour in Gaza City in February 2024. Another still-pending case involves the Israeli airstrike on a tent camp in Rafah in May that killed 45 people in a massive fire. A third unresolved incident occurred on June 1, when Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians trying to collect food aid in Rafah. Thirty-one people were killed. Witnesses say Israeli forces fired directly at civilians, but the Israeli military dismissed the reports as “false” at the time. However, it later claimed that the incident was “still under review.”
AOAV tracked 52 cases between October 2023 and the end of June 2025 in which the Israeli military said it had launched or would launch investigations into reports of civilian harm or other misconduct by its forces. These incidents account for the deaths of 1,303 Palestinians and injuries to at least 1,880 others. Yet only one case has led to a conviction and prison time. In February 2025, a reservist was sentenced to seven months in prison for aggravated abuse at the Sde Teiman detention center, where he repeatedly assaulted blindfolded and bound Palestinian detainees with his fists, a baton, and his assault rifle.
In five other cases, the military found violations. One of those involved the killing of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in an Israeli airstrike in April 2024. An Israeli colonel and a major were dismissed, and three commanders were reprimanded. The army called it a “grave mistake” caused by misidentification, but the aid group strongly criticized the rapid investigation, calling it lacking in credibility.
The remaining 46 cases, or 88% of the total, show no accountability. Seven were closed without any findings of wrongdoing. Another 39 remain open or unresolved, including several incidents in July where Palestinians were killed while trying to access food aid.
The Israeli army insists it conducts proper investigations. It claims that every report of misconduct, regardless of the source, undergoes a preliminary review. If necessary, military police launch criminal probes. These investigations fall under two internal systems: the military advocate general’s office and the Fact-Finding Assessment (FFA) mechanism led by the Israeli military’s general staff. The Israeli army claimed it had opened dozens of criminal investigations and reviewed hundreds of incidents through the FFA, transferring many to the military advocate general for further examination.
According to official Israeli figures, 74 criminal investigations have been launched since the start of the genocide. Most concern the mistreatment and deaths of detainees, theft of weapons, and destruction of civilian property. Only a small number relate to war crimes.
However, human rights groups say these internal systems have long failed to produce justice. According to the Israeli watchdog Yesh Din, past Israeli wars in 2014, 2018–19, and 2021 led to only one known prosecution after 664 inquiries. Critics argue the FFA mechanism is slow, lacks transparency, and serves to shield soldiers rather than hold them accountable.
AOAV researchers Iain Overton and Lucas Tsantzouris say the current system is part of a broader strategy to avoid responsibility. They warn that Israel is not simply failing to investigate wrongdoing; it is building a record of closing cases involving some of the most serious and public abuses by its forces.
C. QNN
