Belgium opens war crimes probe into soldier fighting for Israel in Gaza
The federal prosecutor's office said the probe focuses on a Belgian member of an elite unit of the Israeli military comprising several other dual passport holders.
Palestinians watch smoke billowing following an Israeli airstrike in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on 6 June 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Picture: AFP
BRUSSELS - Belgian authorities said on Friday they have launched an investigation into possible war crimes committed by a Belgian-Israeli soldier fighting for Israel in Gaza.
The federal prosecutor's office said the probe focuses on a Belgian member of an elite unit of the Israeli military comprising several other dual passport holders.
"We have opened a file on possible war crimes," a spokesperson for the prosecutor's office told AFP.
The suspect, who has not been named, is said to be a man in his 20s from Brussels' upmarket suburb of Uccle.
The investigation, officially opened Wednesday, stems from the work of Palestinian journalist Younis Tirawi.
Posting on X this month, Tirawi accused an Israeli sniper unit called "Refaim", or "Ghosts" in Hebrew, of "brutal executions of unarmed civilians".
Belgium's Justice Minister Paul Van Tigchelt said on Thursday the Belgian probe sought to "verify the information published in the press".
"Israel has the right to self-defence, but that does not exempt it from its obligation to respect international humanitarian law," Van Tigchelt told parliament.
He said the federal prosecutor's office would coordinate with the International Criminal Court in The Hague, whose chief prosecutor has sought arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
ICC prosecutor Karim Khan also sought warrants against top Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh and Mohammed Deif -- but all three have since been killed.
Israel launched its offensive against Hamas in Gaza in the wake of the October 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian militant group, which resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.
Israel's retaliatory campaign in Gaza has killed 42,438 people, the majority civilians, according to data from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, which the UN considers reliable.