Human Rights Group Files War Crime Complaint against Israeli Commander

Gaza, MINA – A human rights organization has lodged a war crime complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) against an Israeli military commander in connection with the killing of a six-year-old Palestinian girl, Hind Rajab, in Gaza, Anadolu Agency reported.

According to the Hind Rajab Foundation, on January 29, 2024, Hind and six of her family members were killed instantly when an Israeli tank opened fire on their car in Gaza City. Hind survived the initial attack but died hours later from her wounds after paramedics were unable to reach her due to heavy Israeli gunfire.

The Brussels-based foundation filed the complaint against Lt. Col. Beni Aharon, commander of the Israeli army’s 401st Armored Brigade at the time, alleging that his unit was responsible for both the attack on the civilian vehicle and the destruction of the Palestine Red Crescent ambulance sent to rescue Hind.

“It was under Lt. Col. Aharon’s command that an Israeli tank unit attacked the civilian vehicle of Hind’s family, and later destroyed the Palestine Red Crescent ambulance dispatched to rescue her,” the foundation stated. It added that the battalion involved, including its field commanders and officers, has been fully identified.

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Dyab Abou Jahjah, chairman of the foundation, emphasized that the complaint is only the beginning of a broader legal effort.

“Today, Hind should have been blowing out candles. Instead, we are naming her killer. This is only the beginning. We are coming for every name, every link in the chain, with the law and with truth,” he said.

The group has called for the ICC to issue an arrest warrant for Aharon and is preparing further complaints against other officers.

Since October 2023, nearly 52,500 Palestinians have been martyred in Gaza, most of them women and children, amid an ongoing Israeli offensive. []

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Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)