An investigation based on a review of more than 60,000 news reports and a manual examination of hundreds of incidents found that the Israeli military had announced investigations into 300 incidents that occurred between 7 October 2023 and 19 August 2026. However, it had published results for only about 28 incidents on its website, while the status of 18 others remained unclear.
The investigation used artificial intelligence tools to examine reports, alongside a manual review of the incidents. The military provided confirmed information only about two incidents, saying they were still under review, while declining to comment on the other incidents covered by the investigation. Among the cases identified, the investigation recorded 254 incidents involving deaths and injuries attributed to the Israeli military.
Distribution of incidents and rising death toll
The incidents subjected to public scrutiny included the killing of five-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab, as well as the killing of 15 emergency workers from the Palestine Red Crescent. The BBC Verify platform reported that the Israeli military fired more than 100 bullets at them, amid allegations that they were targeted at close range.
Review results in five incidents in Gaza
Last August, the Israeli military published a report on its internal investigations into five incidents in the Gaza Strip, including two cases that were under criminal investigation. The other three cases involved the deaths of seven World Central Kitchen workers in an air strike and the deaths of four Médecins Sans Frontières employees in two separate attacks in the Strip.
The military said it had found no basis or reasonable suspicion warranting a criminal investigation into those three cases. By contrast, the BBC Verify investigation noted that the military had announced that the Israeli General Staff's Fact-Finding and Assessment Mechanism had completed reviews of around 150 incidents since the start of the war.
Military explains publication of investigation results
Those incidents were referred to the military prosecution for examination, without clarification of their nature or whether they were separate from the incidents identified by the investigation. The military said it "publishes the results of investigations and reviews whenever possible, while taking legal, operational, privacy and information-security considerations into account".
The military also explained that some incidents were subject to operational reviews at command level, aimed at establishing the sequence of events, identifying shortcomings and drawing lessons. It also told BBC investigators that disciplinary action had been taken in dozens of cases against soldiers it said had violated instructions; the measures included removing them from combat positions and reserve service.
Separate data obtained by the Israeli human rights organisation Yesh Din under the Freedom of Information Law showed that at least 1,456 incidents linked to the Gaza Strip were referred between October 2023 and August 2024 to the General Staff's Fact-Finding and Assessment Mechanism.
Of the total, reviews of only 12 cases had been completed and referred to the Military Advocate General's Office, while two of them resulted in the opening of criminal investigations.
