Key facts
- BBC Verify identified 254 incidents where the IDF claimed investigations were underway with no public outcome.
- Of 300 cases examined, only 28 had published outcomes on the IDF website.
- At least one person was reportedly killed in over 200 of the incidents without public outcomes.
- The IDF said it publishes investigation outcomes when possible, subject to legal and privacy considerations.
- An Israeli human rights group reported 1,456 Gaza-related incidents referred to the FFAM between October 2023 and August 2024, with 12 completed reviews.
BBC Verify has identified 254 incidents where the Israeli military (IDF) stated it was investigating allegations of killings or injuries in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, and Israel, but for which no public outcome has been published. The investigation, which used AI tools to comb through over 60,000 news reports, found that out of 300 cases where the IDF claimed to be looking into allegations, only 28 had published outcomes on its website. Some of these cases date back to late 2023, including a strike on a Gaza school in August 2024 that reportedly killed at least 93 people. The IDF stated it takes allegations seriously and publishes outcomes when possible, subject to legal and operational considerations, and that certain incidents are examined through command-level reviews to draw lessons. However, it has not provided a transparent breakdown of the status of the 300 investigations identified by BBC Verify. International law guidelines, such as those from the ICRC, emphasize transparency in investigations into potential violations of international humanitarian law. Experts noted challenges in collecting evidence in complex combat environments and the unpopularity of investigating soldiers during wartime, while also encouraging greater transparency from the IDF.