Authorities in Peru have opened a criminal investigation against an Israeli citizen accused of participating in alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip during 2023–2024, according to the Hind Rajab Foundation, a Brussels-based NGO focused on legal actions against Israeli soldiers.
The investigation, described by the foundation as a "landmark development for international justice,” stems from a complaint filed by prominent human rights lawyer Julio César Arbizu González. The complaint alleges that the individual served as a combat engineering soldier and took part in what the foundation calls a "methodical and systematic destruction of civilian neighbourhoods in the Gaza Strip.”
Supporting materials submitted include open-source documentation purportedly showing the soldier detonating a civilian building and celebrating the act. The soldier’s name has not been publicly released, though the foundation published an image and a video allegedly depicting him.
The Hind Rajab Foundation claims the suspect could face charges including “war crimes, crimes against humanity and acts of genocide.” It praised Peru’s “adherence to the principles of international humanitarian and criminal law” and universal jurisdiction, which obliges countries to prosecute serious crimes regardless of where they were committed or the nationality of the suspects.
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The NGO also asserted that the Combat Engineering Corps was not merely auxiliary but a “core operational arm of destruction, systematically reducing civilian areas to rubble, erasing entire communities, and rendering large swathes of Gaza uninhabitable.”
It announced plans to compile and submit hundreds of additional legal files targeting members of the same military unit to judicial authorities worldwide in the coming months.
“Justice is not optional. Justice is imperative,” said Dyab Abou Jahjah, chairman of the Hind Rajab Foundation. “This investigation marks a decisive step in the dismantling of Israeli impunity," he added.
The foundation did not confirm whether the soldier is currently in Peru, citing concerns that revealing such information could enable Israeli authorities to intervene, as allegedly occurred in previous cases. According to the NGO, it often identifies targets for legal action based on social media posts made by soldiers during travel.
Founded in September 2024, the Hind Rajab Foundation is named after a Palestinian girl allegedly killed by Israeli fire during the war. It operates as a branch of the March 30 Movement, a group active for more than 30 years in pursuing legal cases against IDF personnel. The organization gathers open-source intelligence on Israeli soldiers, including details of their military service, aiming to facilitate prosecutions abroad.
To date, the foundation has initiated legal proceedings against dozens of soldiers in at least eight countries and has submitted information to the International Criminal Court regarding alleged war crimes by over a thousand Israeli soldiers and officers in Gaza and Lebanon.