Paris: Six non-governmental organizations, including the International Federation for Human Rights and the Human Rights League, filed a criminal complaint in a Paris court on Tuesday against two French-Israeli soldiers accused of committing war crimes in the Gaza Strip. The complaint targets two members of the Israeli military's elite Ghost Unit, accused of executing unarmed civilians in Gaza City and Khan Younis between November 2023 and March 2024.
According to Anadolu Agency, the case is based on investigative reporting by Palestinian journalist Younis Tirawi, who detailed the unit's operations and its use of precision targeting. The complaint leverages the French nationality of the soldiers to invoke France's extraterritorial jurisdiction, a mechanism deemed essential when justice cannot be pursued in the country concerned. The International Federation for Human Rights emphasized the absence of criminal investigations in Israel and other European states as a driving factor for the complaint.
The legal action comes amid a broader international effort to hold individuals accountable for crimes during the Gaza conflict. In October 2024, Belgium's Belgo-Palestinian Association filed a similar case against a Belgian-Israeli soldier from the same unit, with additional complaints being prepared in Germany and Italy. Central to the complaint are allegations of summary executions and civilian humiliation, some reportedly documented in videos shared online.
The NGOs argue these acts could constitute crimes against humanity and genocide. According to the International Federation for Human Rights, about 4,000 French nationals currently serve in the Israeli military. The organizations aim for the legal action to establish France's competence in prosecuting international crimes committed abroad and to encourage broader accountability for dual nationals involved in armed operations.
By filing as civil parties, the NGOs seek to instigate a formal investigation and promote similar legal actions in other countries with universal jurisdiction laws.