Hebrew media sources revealed that the Israeli military establishment has opened 57 criminal investigations related to the deaths of detainees from the Gaza Strip and Lebanon during the ongoing war. Reports indicated that these investigations included the deaths of 56 Palestinians and one Lebanese who died while in military custody. However, none of these cases resulted in indictments against those responsible.
Data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act shows that seven of these investigations focused directly on shooting incidents that led to the immediate death of detainees. Despite the seriousness of these allegations, the occupation authorities continue to delay the completion of legal procedures. The army even claimed not to know the timing of two of these serious incidents.
According to available information, the vast majority of deaths subject to criminal investigation occurred within military detention facilities under strict security control. These locations are characterized by advanced surveillance camera systems and the availability of a large number of witnesses, both Israeli soldiers and other detainees present at the scene.
The Israeli army justified its failure to achieve concrete results in these investigations by what it described as "complexities of proof" resulting from field combat conditions. Military sources claimed that the inability to accurately identify suspects prevented these investigations from progressing to actual judicial proceedings, raising questions about the seriousness of these internal procedures.
These investigations were distributed chronologically over the months of the war, with 2024 seeing the largest number of them, coinciding with widespread arrest campaigns in the Gaza Strip. Records also show that 19 investigations were opened in the last quarter of 2023, in addition to three new investigations initiated at the beginning of 2025.
Informed sources reported that some detainees died upon arrival at detention facilities due to previous injuries that were not adequately treated medically. In these cases, an automatic military procedure is activated to investigate any death occurring within military facilities, but these often conclude without clear criminal responsibility being assigned.
In addition to direct injuries, reports noted that the lack of adequate medical care and the spread of diseases within overcrowded detention centers were a major cause of several deaths. Israel faces widespread international criticism over detention conditions, which human rights activists describe as lacking minimum international humanitarian and legal standards.
In a related context concerning soldier violations, sources revealed that investigations into the looting of civilian property in Gaza and Lebanon faced a similar fate in terms of lack of accountability. Despite direct instructions from the Chief of Staff to report thefts, most reports were closed without punitive measures being taken against those involved.
Military courts recorded only one indictment related to looting, where a soldier was convicted of stealing money from a house in Gaza after attempting to deposit it into his account. The irony in this case is that the conviction came after it was discovered that the banknotes the soldier had seized were counterfeit, which facilitated his exposure and prosecution.
Investigations also included other cases where soldiers smuggled motorcycles and electrical appliances from affected areas in the Gaza Strip into Israel. However, in most of these cases, the military leadership sufficed with simple disciplinary measures, avoiding the criminal path that could lead to actual prison sentences for the elements involved in these crimes.
In most criminal investigations, the Israeli army was unable to identify suspects, attributing this to the complexities of proof in combat conditions despite the presence of surveillance cameras.
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Israeli investigations into the deaths of 57 detainees from Gaza and Lebanon conclude without charges