The pro-Palestinian Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) announced that it has filed a criminal complaint in Italy against an Israeli soldier, alleging war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts of genocide during the Israeli military campaign in the Gaza Strip.
According to HRF, the soldier is currently vacationing in Tuscany. The foundation said its investigation concerns three incidents during his deployment in Gaza between October 2023 and August 2024, while he served with the Tycoon Company of the Givati Shaked Battalion, under the 401st Armored Brigade.
HRF said the incidents include the operation at Al-Shifa Hospital in March and April 2024, the burning of the Haj Hamdi Harzallah mosque in late December 2023, and the destruction of Palestine Square in December 2023.
Regarding Al-Shifa Hospital, HRF stated that Israeli forces entered and occupied the medical complex during a military operation following a two-week siege. The foundation said the operation caused extensive destruction and left the facility non-functional. HRF further stated that the soldier documented his presence inside the hospital during the operation.
Israel, however, said the operation at Shifa Hospital was launched on the basis of intelligence indicating that Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists were using the hospital as a command and control center and military headquarters. The IDF said that during the two-week operation, approximately 500 terrorists affiliated with terrorist organizations were apprehended and hundreds were eliminated. It also said troops found large quantities of weapons and intelligence documents throughout the hospital. The IDF stated that its forces operated while seeking to avoid harm to medical staff and patients.
During the operation, IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagari also said Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists had barricaded themselves inside hospital wards and accused Hamas terrorists of firing from the hospital’s emergency room and maternity ward and throwing explosive devices from the burn ward. He said terrorists operating around the hospital also fired mortars at Israeli forces, causing damage to hospital buildings.
HRF also alleged that members of the Tycoon Company were photographed inside the Haj Hamdi Harzallah mosque in Gaza City’s al-Nasr neighborhood before the mosque was set ablaze. According to the foundation, additional images showed soldiers from the company posing inside the burning building. HRF said the soldier was deployed with the company in Gaza City at the time.
The foundation further alleged that the Tycoon Company was involved in the destruction of Palestine Square in Gaza City’s Rimal neighborhood after Israeli forces took control of the area on December 5, 2023. HRF said the district surrounding the square was destroyed over the following weeks using tanks, bulldozers, fire, and controlled demolitions, and that the soldier was deployed with the company at the time.
HRF said it has filed the complaint with Italian authorities and is calling for an immediate investigation into the soldier’s conduct.
“Italy, and Tuscany in particular, is a place where solidarity with Palestine runs deep and where the demand for justice has been heard loudly. Its people should not see their land turned into a safe haven for those who destroyed Gaza and committed genocide against its people. There can be no holiday from accountability. If the evidence follows you from Gaza to Tuscany, justice must follow too," said Dyab Abou Jahjah, General Director at HRF.
“HRF has filed several complaints in Italy concerning Israeli war crimes, yet Italian authorities have taken no action, in clear breach of Italy’s legal obligations to investigate under the Geneva and Genocide Conventions. By allowing individuals suspected of war crimes and genocide against the Palestinian people to vacation freely on its territory, Italy is failing in its duty to enforce international law and to prevent and punish genocide," said Natacha Bracq, Head of Litigation at HRF.