International organization: Israel is entrenching a "pattern of impunity" for war crimes in Gaza.

Arab Sea Newspaper - Follow-ups

Arab Sea - Follow-ups: The organization Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) accused the Israeli government of enshrining impunity by closing the majority of investigations into alleged war crimes and violations committed by its military forces in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war, without reaching conclusive results or bringing any charges. The organization, an independent international research body based in London specializing in documenting the impact of explosive weapons on civilians, said that about 88% of Israeli military investigations were closed without proving wrongdoing or accountability, thus enshrining a systematic pattern of ignoring serious violations. The investigations that have not yet been resolved include several bloody incidents, including the killing of 112 Palestinians during the distribution of food aid in Gaza City in February 2024, and an air strike that killed 45 people inside a camp for displaced persons in Rafah in May, in addition to another massacre in Rafah on June 1, where 31 Palestinians were killed while heading to get food, an incident that is still "under review" according to a statement by the Israeli army to The Guardian newspaper. The British newspaper quoted the organization's researchers, Ian Overton and Lucas Tsantsoulis, as confirming that the pattern of repeated investigations that do not result in conviction or even clarification of the circumstances, represents a "dangerous indicator of seeking to normalize impunity," especially in cases involving "the most public and serious accusations." The Israeli army insists that all "exceptional" incidents are subject to examination and investigation in accordance with Israeli and international law, through mechanisms that include military police investigations and internal assessments conducted by the General Staff. However, the organization believes that these procedures have become "more opaque and slower" in parallel with the increase in the number of civilian casualties. The organization stated that it had monitored, between October 2023 and June 2025, at least 52 cases in which the Israeli army stated its intention to open an investigation after media reports of violations, including the killing of 1,303 Palestinians and the injury of 1,880 others in Gaza and the West Bank. While some cases resulted in limited measures—including the imprisonment of a reserve soldier for seven months in February 2025 after he assaulted Palestinian detainees, and the dismissal of a colonel and major and the reprimanding of three commanders after the killing of 7 employees of the World Central Kitchen organization—the vast majority of cases were closed without accountability. The organization pointed out that 46 out of 52 cases were closed without any indication of wrongdoing, while 39 cases are still under review, including four bloody incidents in just one month, targeting Palestinians near food distribution centers. The Israeli army indicates that any allegation of wrongdoing is subject to an initial examination, and may be referred to a criminal investigation if sufficient evidence is available. However, human rights organizations, such as "Yesh Din," confirm that the army's external impact assessment mechanism takes a long time and lacks transparency, noting that it resulted in only one trial out of 664 investigations conducted in military operations between 2014 and 2021. In a report issued in August 2024, the Israeli army revealed that it had opened 74 criminal investigations into the war on Gaza, including 52 related to the death or ill-treatment of detainees, 13 to cases related to the theft of ammunition, 6 to allegations of excessive use of force, and three to the destruction of civilian property without military necessity. However, Action on Armed Violence indicates that these figures do not reflect reality, as it used a different methodology to monitor violations, and relied on media reports and announced investigations, to confirm that the largest proportion of cases remain without accountability or transparent results.