Israeli military drops charges against soldiers accused of Gaza detainee abuse

Israel’s top military lawyer has dropped all charges against five soldiers accused of the violent abuse and rape of a Palestinian detainee from Gaza.The military advocate general, Itay Offir, said prosecutors lacked key evidence after the victim was sent back to Gaza, and that the conduct of senior officials had affected the chance of holding a fair trial.Medical records show the detainee was taken to hospital in the summer of 2024 with injuries including broken ribs, a punctured lung and rectal damage, according to Israeli media reports on the indictment.The detainee had been held at the Sde Teiman military detention centre, which has become notorious for torture. After the first arrests of Israeli soldiers in connection with the attack, a far-right mob including a minister and lawmakers broke into the base demanding the men’s release.Israeli media broadcast a video of the attack soon after. Offir’s predecessor has been arrested on suspicion of authorising the leak, in an apparent attempt to defuse anger about the arrests and refute claims the men had been unfairly charged.It had little effect inside Israel, where the men’s supporters have claimed they were targeted for routine security work in a military detention centre. The five soldiers have not been named.Offir said in a statement that the video did not present a clear picture of the attack, because “the vast majority of the defendants’ actions are obscured by shields”.He also said the decision to release the detainee back to Gaza as part of the October 2025 ceasefire deal negotiated by Donald Trump meant he could no longer give testimony at trial. The detainee was never charged or tried while in Israeli custody.Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, welcomed the decision to drop charges, saying it was unacceptable it had taken so long and describing the men as “heroic warriors”.Rights groups said the decision raised serious questions about the rule of law in Israel and accountability for abuse and killing of Palestinians during what a UN commission has called a genocidal war.Sari Bashi, the executive director of the rights group Israel" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="43473" data-entity-type="organization">Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, said: “Israel’s military attorney general just gave his soldiers licence to rape, so long as the victim is Palestinian.“[The decision] is the latest in a long line of actions that whitewash abuses against detainees whose frequency and severity have worsened since 7 October 2023.”There has been only one conviction of an Israeli soldier for assaulting Palestinians in detention over the more than two years of war, despite widespread torture and abuse having been documented in Israel’s jail system, including sexualised torture. Dozens of Palestinians have died in captivity.Suhad Bishara, the legal director of the rights group Adalah, said it was a particularly strong case “where the world saw security footage of the assault alongside medical evidence of severe sexual and physical abuse”.“By abandoning the charges, the Israeli military has made clear that those who engage in the torture of Palestinians face no risk of accountability.”Quique Kierszenbaum contributed reporting