IDF Legal Chief Avoided Probes Into Gaza War Crimes, Citing Right-wing Backlash
The embroiled former Israeli army legal chief, who resigned last week following investigations into the abuse of Palestinians in Israeli detention, refrained from launching investigations into several incidents in Gaza that could have constituted violations of international law or even war crimes, according to senior IDF sources.
The Israeli military's top legal officer, Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, resigned on Friday over her involvement in the leaking of a video showing the alleged abuse of a Gazan detainee by Israeli guards at the Sde Teiman detention facility last year.
Senior reserve officers and investigative officials tasked with examining such incidents said the Tomer-Yerushalmi felt threatened by right-wing incitement against her and found various pretexts to avoid opening or advancing investigations.
A reserve officer serving in the IDF legal chief's office recalled the first time she felt uneasy about Tomer-Yerushalmi's handling of cases. It was after an IDF airstrike in Gaza killed seven volunteers from the World Central Kitchen in April 2024.
"It was very clear that the entire incident violated orders and regulations," the officer said. After Tomer-Yerushalmi transferred the case to the IDF's operational investigation mechanism, she said "the incident simply disappeared."
"She decided to hand it over to the IDF's operational investigation mechanism. When the findings made it clear that the case required a Military Police investigation, it never happened."
Haaretz Weekly
Inside the Israeli media’s ‘shocking self-censorship’ of the horrors of Gaza
"There was talk that she was being threatened by the Right and that these threats also reached her private home, but today this explains the feeling in the prosecutor's office: that she was avoiding opening investigations and decisions on the most pressing issues."
Tomer-Yerushalmi's conduct drew further scrutiny last March, when an IDF unit killed 15 medical personnel in Gaza. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, some of the workers were found with their hands bound, and their bodies showed signs of "head and chest injuries" and were "buried in a deep pit to prevent their discovery."
"The whole event is documented, and everyone knows it was wrong. Ethically, operationally, and under the laws of war, it was not acceptable," said a security source familiar with the details.
"They sent the operational investigation team to look into it. Even after the team tried to submit a 'softened' report, the demand remained to pass the case to the Military Police Investigations Unit. But as far as I know, no investigation has been opened to this day."
The source said the IDF legal chief was "paralyzed by the incitement against her and the social media discourse, which prevented her from making decisions on sensitive issues."
"She was simply afraid to open investigations. Where was she when the IDF used Palestinian civilians as human shields? Where was she when aid was blocked? When universities and hospitals were bombed?"
Last year, as preparations began for the establishment of the Gaza Humanitarian Fund(GHF) to secure the distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza, officials in the IDF legal chief's office raised legal concerns about the move.
According to IDF sources, Tomer-Yerushalmi took a firm stance during the fund's early stages, insisting that GHF hubs be supervised to ensure they were being operated legally. As the issue went on, responsibility was transferred to the Prime Minister's Office and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, who was appointed to oversee coordination with the American company running the program.
Tomer-Yerushalmi preferred to delegate responsibility to the Defense Ministry's legal advisor, even though numerous incidents that could have been considered violations of international law were directly linked to the IDF, which was responsible for enabling and securing aid distribution.
"Once she realized it had become political – that the U.S. company was effectively backed by the Israeli government and that IDF officials connected to the right were operating it – she disappeared," said another security source. "Suddenly, sanitary aid wasn't humanitarian anymore, and it was possible to withhold essential items from trucks or keep certain distribution points closed for days."
According to the source, until Tomer-Yerushalmi submitted her resignation last Friday, the expectation was that she would open a criminal investigation into the tank strike on Khan Yunis hospital, which in August killed at least 20 people, including five journalists.
The source said the attack "will confront us in the future and requires a direct response from Israel." However, he claimed Tomer-Yerushalmi "was unable to withstand the pressure applied to her from within the IDF or from the political right."