Israel must investigate itself: IDF accountability strengthens the country - editorial

An army governed by law must be capable of determining when a mistake was understandable, when negligence occurred, and when a line was crossed.

The IDF Military Advocate-General’s (MAG) Corps on Wednesday issued its first public accounting of wartime misconduct since October 7, 2023. More than 150 cases are under criminal investigation, and in five prominent incidents, two are moving forward as criminal probes, two have resulted in disciplinary measures, and one was closed.

The report is important not because it proves that Israeli soldiers committed war crimes. Investigations are meant to establish facts, distinguish criminal conduct from tragic error, and determine responsibility.

But the willingness to investigate is essential.

Israel must investigate its failures to improve

Israel has spent nearly three years fighting a complex war. Its soldiers have operated in dense urban environments against Hamas fighters amid civilian populations and infrastructure, where distinguishing combatants from noncombatants can be difficult. Those realities make mistakes more likely and investigations more difficult.

They do not make scrutiny unnecessary.

The World Central Kitchen strike in April 2024, which killed seven aid workers, was a devastating operational failure. The latest review upheld the determination that the incident warranted disciplinary measures but not criminal prosecution. Not every terrible battlefield mistake is a crime.

Other cases raise serious questions. The killing of Hind Rajab and members of her family in January 2024 is now the subject of a criminal investigation, including whether officials coordinating an ambulance sent to rescue her were grossly negligent.

The Jerusalem Post’s Yonah Jeremy Bob reported that the MAG Corps alleges Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) failed to pass information about a designated safe route to IDF forces on the ground.

The March 2025 Tel al-Sultan incident, in which 15 Palestinians connected to rescue and UN services were killed, is also under criminal investigation. The IDF later said six were identified as Hamas members, but the MAG nevertheless ordered the criminal probe to continue.

No one should prejudge those cases. But Israelis should not fear the investigation.

Investigating the IDF does not mean abandoning it

In wartime, there is a tendency to treat any examination of Israeli soldiers’ conduct as an attack on the soldiers themselves. That is wrong. Supporting the IDF does not require believing that every decision made by every soldier or commander was correct.

An army governed by law must be capable of determining when a mistake was understandable, when negligence occurred, and when a line was crossed.

That is particularly true for Israel, whose enemies and critics routinely accuse it of criminality. The answer to exaggerated or politically motivated accusations cannot be to insist that Israel is incapable of wrongdoing. The stronger answer is to show that Israel possesses institutions willing to examine credible allegations and act on the evidence.

That has international consequences. The International Criminal Court describes itself as a court of last resort, intended to complement rather than replace national courts.

A credible Israeli investigative system is not a concession to The Hague. It strengthens Israel’s case that allegations involving its forces should be examined independently by Israeli institutions.

Israeli investigations must also be timely

There is, however, a weakness in Wednesday’s announcement: it took too long.

Several incidents now being addressed occurred in late 2023 and early 2024. IDF legal officials acknowledge that decisions have been delayed. In the Hind Rajab case, the Post reported that none of the relevant COGAT officials had yet been criminally investigated.

That is a problem. Memories fade. Evidence becomes harder to establish. Public confidence erodes. An investigation that appears only years after an incident invites questions about whether accountability is being pursued with sufficient urgency.

Israel’s military justice system must be independent and careful. It must also be faster.

Accountability strengthens a democracy

The purpose of accountability is not to satisfy hostile governments, activist organizations, or international tribunals. Nor should soldiers operating under battlefield conditions be sacrificed to appease critics.

More basically, Israel should demand of itself the standards it says distinguish the IDF from the enemies it fights.

Some investigations will lead to prosecutions. Others will end in discipline. Some will conclude that no wrongdoing occurred. That is how a serious legal system works.

A democracy proves its strength not by claiming that its institutions never fail but by showing that they can confront failure when it occurs. The IDF’s new report is an overdue step in that direction. Accountability should become not an exceptional response delivered years later, but a timely and credible part of how Israel wages war under law.