A BBC Verify investigation has found 254 incidents in which the Israeli military has been accused of killing or injuring people, and said it was investigating, but for which no outcome has been made public. The cases span Gaza, Lebanon, the occupied West Bank and Israel, and all occurred between 7 October 2023 and 19 August 2026. At least one person was reportedly killed in more than 200 of them.
Using purpose-built AI tools, BBC Verify combed through more than 60,000 news reports and, after manual checking, identified 300 cases the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was examining. Only 28 had outcomes published on the IDF website, and for 18 more it was unclear whether the inquiry had concluded. Of the 254 unresolved incidents, 158 were in Gaza, 48 in the West Bank, 32 in Lebanon and 16 in Israel or IDF detention. The IDF answered BBC questions on only two cases, saying both remain under review.
One of the oldest cases dates from December 2023, when a mother, Nahida Anton, and her daughter Samar were killed by sniper fire in the grounds of the Holy Family church, the only Catholic church in Gaza, according to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The army said at the time that troops were responding to a threat from Hamas fighters near the church and promised a thorough investigation. Nearly three years later, it says the inquiry is still ongoing. Among the deadliest unresolved cases is an August 2024 strike on a school building in Gaza that reportedly killed at least 93 people.
In August the IDF published a rare report on five Gaza cases. Two, the killings of five-year-old Hind Rajab and of 15 Palestinian Red Crescent emergency workers, were escalated to criminal investigation. In three others, involving seven World Central Kitchen aid workers and four Médecins Sans Frontières workers, it found no basis for a criminal inquiry. The report also said a fact-finding mechanism had completed review of about 150 cases, now with the Military Prosecution, but did not say which. Data from the Israeli rights group Yesh Din showed that of at least 1,456 Gaza-related incidents referred to that mechanism by August 2024, 12 reviews had been completed and two led to criminal investigations. Yesh Din researcher Dan Owen said the army tries to "stretch out these processes to the point where people forget".
The IDF says it takes every allegation "with the utmost seriousness", publishes outcomes where legal, operational and privacy considerations allow, and has disciplined dozens of soldiers. Eran Shamir-Borer, a former senior IDF lawyer, acknowledged real difficulties gathering evidence in hostile territory, and said investigating soldiers during war is never popular, but urged more openness. Janina Dill, an Oxford international law professor, said the Geneva Conventions clearly require parties to a conflict to investigate and potentially prosecute their own forces, and Red Cross-endorsed guidelines stress promptness, thoroughness and impartiality.
The war began after the Hamas-led attacks of 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage. The Hamas-run health ministry says more than 74,000 Palestinians have since been killed.