By Pesach Benson • August 19, 2026
Jerusalem, 19 August, 2026 (TPS-IL) — The Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday that investigations into five cases involving aid workers, medical personnel and civilians in Gaza had resulted in disciplinary action or further criminal probes, while rejecting allegations that its forces deliberately target humanitarian personnel.
The war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas Terrorists launched a surprise attack on southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 252 others captive.
The announcement came as UN officials and humanitarian organizations accused Israel of putting aid workers at grave risk. The IDF said it has completed investigations into about 150 cases since the war began.
Palestinians inspect a building in Gaza City damaged by an Israeli airstrike on Aug. 2, 2026. Photo by TPS-IL.
The five cases involve the deaths of humanitarian workers, medical personnel and Palestinian civilians in Gaza between November 2023 and March 2025. They include the World Central Kitchen (WCK) strike, the killing of five-year-old Hind Rajab and two Red Crescent paramedics, the deaths of 15 Palestinians in Tel al-Sultan, and two separate incidents involving Doctors Without Borders employees.
In the WCK case, the IDF said soldiers mistakenly believed Hamas operatives had taken over the aid convoy after identifying what they thought were armed men and suspicious vehicle movements. The military said WCK had hired an armed security team whose presence had not been coordinated with the IDF, and that several people were incorrectly identified as armed men after the convoy reached a warehouse.
The Military Prosecutor’s Office concluded that, despite failures in assessing the situation, the commanders’ decisions did not meet the threshold for criminal charges. The IDF had previously removed two officers from their positions and reprimanded several senior commanders over the incident.
Israel: Hamas Exploits Humanitarian Operations
Israel has also repeatedly accused Hamas of exploiting humanitarian operations in Gaza, including by embedding operatives within or operating alongside civilian and aid infrastructure. Israel has said such activity complicates efforts to distinguish combatants from civilians and can put humanitarian personnel at greater risk.
The investigation also addressed the January 2024 deaths of five members of the Hamada family, including five-year-old Hind Rajab, and two Red Crescent paramedics who were killed after an ambulance was dispatched to rescue the survivors.
The IDF said its forces fired on the family’s vehicle as it approached Israeli troops while traveling opposite an announced evacuation route. The military said apparent failures in coordinating the ambulance’s movement led it to order a criminal investigation by the Military Police Criminal Investigations Division. That investigation remains ongoing, and the IDF did not disclose further findings.
The case has drawn international scrutiny after independent investigations disputed an initial IDF assessment that Israeli Forces were not near the vehicle. Because the criminal investigation remains ongoing, the IDF has not publicly released findings determining responsibility for Rajab’s death.
The IDF also ordered a criminal investigation into the March 2025 deaths of 15 Palestinians in Tel al-Sultan, including medical personnel and a UN worker, after Israeli forces fired on a fire truck, ambulances and a UN vehicle. The IDF said six of those killed were identified as affiliated with Hamas. A brigade commander received a command reprimand, while the deputy commander of a Golani reconnaissance unit was removed from his post.
In two other cases involving Doctors Without Borders employees, the IDF found no grounds for criminal investigations. The military said two employees killed in Khan Yunis in February 2024 died after troops fired at a building they believed posed a threat. In a separate November 2023 incident in Gaza City, the IDF said two other employees may have been struck by warning fire after their convoy deviated from a coordinated evacuation route.
