Israel’s top military lawyer has dropped all charges against five soldiers accused of violent abuse and rape of a Palestinian detainee from Gaza.
Military prosecutor 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 chances of a fair trial.
Medical records show that the detainee was taken to the hospital in the summer of 2024 with injuries that included broken ribs, a punctured lung and rectal damage, according to Israeli media reports on the indictment.
The detainee had been held in the Sde Teiman military detention center, which has become famous for its torture. After the first arrests of Israeli soldiers in connection with the attack, a far-right mob, including a minister and lawmakers, stormed the base demanding the release of the men.
Israeli media released a video of the attack shortly after. Offir’s predecessor has been arrested on suspicion of authorizing the leak, in an apparent attempt to calm anger over the arrests and refute claims that the men had been wrongly accused.
It had little effect inside Israel, where supporters of the men have claimed they were subjected to routine security duties at a military detention center. The five soldiers have not been identified.
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 return the detainee to Gaza as part of the October 2025 ceasefire deal brokered by Donald Trump meant he could no longer give evidence at the trial. The detainee was never charged or tried while in Israeli custody.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the decision to drop the charges, saying it was unacceptable that it had taken so long and describing the men as “heroic warriors.”
Human rights groups said the decision raised serious questions about the rule of law in Israel and accountability for abuses and killings of Palestinians during what a U.N. commission has called a genocidal war.
Sari Bashi, executive director of the human rights group Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, said: “Israel’s military attorney general just gave his soldiers license to rape, as long as the victim is Palestinian.
“(The decision) is the latest in a long series of actions that cover up abuses against detainees whose frequency and severity have worsened since October 7, 2023.”
There has only been one conviction of an Israeli soldier for assaulting Palestinian detainees during the more than two years of war, even though widespread torture and abuse has been documented in Israel’s prison system, including sexualized torture. Dozens of Palestinians have died in captivity.
Suhad Bishara, legal director at human rights group Adalah, said it was a particularly strong case “in which the world saw security footage of the assault alongside medical evidence of serious physical and sexual abuse”.
“By dropping the charges, the Israeli military has made clear that those involved in the torture of Palestinians are at no risk of being held accountable.”
Quique Kierszenbaum contributed reports
