At least 12 cases were filed against IDF soldiers and reservists traveling abroad, accusing them of committing war crimes during the current war in Gaza, Channel 12 and Haaretz reported.
Countries where such complaints were filed include Brazil, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Belgium, the Netherlands, Serbia, Ireland and Cyprus, Channel 12 News reported. The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF), an anti-Israel lawfare organization, was involved in filing most of the cases.
The report noted that most complaints did not lead to an actual investigation but resulted in the hurried departure of the soldiers from the countries they were visiting, as in the Brazil case reported yesterday involving a combat soldier who survived the Hamas Nova festival massacre on Oct. 7, 2023.
According to Haaretz, complaints were also filed in France and South Africa, both countries whose relations with Israel have significantly worsened due to the war.
Channel 12 reported that the case in Brazil was the worst so far, nearly triggering a diplomatic crisis. The Israeli Foreign Ministry stated that it immediately mobilized diplomats to contact the soldier and his family, accompanying them until their “quick and safe departure from Brazil.”
🚨🚨 Urgent Alert❗️
The #HindRajabFoundation has verified information that Israel is imminently attempting to smuggle suspected Israeli war criminal Yuval Vagdani out of Brazil, because of a Brazilian court order for police to take investigative measures against him. There are… pic.twitter.com/DiIigN4kC2— The Hind Rajab Foundation (@HindRFoundation) January 4, 2025
The ministry also reiterated warnings to Israelis traveling abroad during or after service in the war. It especially cautioned them “concerning publications on social networks regarding their military service, and to the fact that anti-Israeli elements may take advantage of these publications to promote fake legal proceedings against them.”
To combat the growing phenomenon of Israeli soldiers being sued while traveling abroad, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar convened a high-level subcommittee of the Defense Cabinet to discuss ways to protect Israelis and Jews around the world.
The meeting was attended by the minister of the Negev and the Galilee, Yitzhak Wasserlauf, Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter and Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli. Representatives from the foreign, justice and transportation ministries, as well as Shin Bet, Mossad and the National Security Council, also participated.
The case in Brazil was instigated by HRF, which provided a Brazilian lawyer working with the organization with evidence including video footage, geolocation data and pictures of the soldier participating in the detonation of buildings in Gaza.
According to i24 News, Israel believes HRF also received assistance from an unnamed country to collect information and issue lawsuits against Israeli soldiers traveling abroad. HRF claims to have “several such cases running in various countries, most of which have not been publicized.”
— עמיחי שיקלי – Amichai Chikli (@AmichaiChikli) January 6, 2025
Diaspora Minister Chikli noted on 𝕏 that HRF is far “from being a human rights organization.”
“The founder of the organization Dyab Abou Jahjah is a Lebanese-born activist who has previously declared ties to Hezbollah,” Chikli wrote. “In 2002, Abou Jahjah was charged by Belgian authorities with involvement in violent activities.”
“He referred to the 9/11 attacks as “sweet revenge.” Due to his extreme activities, British authorities barred him from entering the UK in 2003,” Chikli added.
“The co-founder of HRF, Karim Hassoun, wrote after the October 7 massacre: ‘I condemn Hamas for taking only 100 hostages instead of 500 or 1,000.’ It’s no coincidence that Brazil’s communist regime under Lula wants to shut down Twitter, but today, the truth cannot be hidden from the public anymore.”
HRF was named after Hind Rajab, a six-year-old girl from Gaza allegedly killed by the IDF during the war. The army investigated the claims and found that no troops were in the area at the time of her death.
Palestinian activists founded HRF in Brussels, Belgium in January 2023. The group is affiliated with a broader movement called “March 30,” which seeks “justice” against Israel for its alleged “war crimes.”
HRF has also filed a case with the International Criminal Court, claiming to have named 1,000 individual Israeli soldiers involved in war crimes in Gaza.
