IDF alleged Gaza war crimes probe rollout delayed again

The rollout of the Israel Defense Forces' (IDF) probes into alleged war crimes committed during the Gaza War has faced further delays, The Jerusalem Post has learned. The exact reason for the postponement remains unclear.

Initially, Maj. Gen. Itay Offir, the IDF Military Advocate General, was expected to announce major decisions within weeks regarding allegations stemming from incidents like the April 2024 World Central Kitchen strike and the March 2025 International Red Crescent incident. These were to be the first public statements from Offir on Gaza-related investigations since he took office in November 2025.

While the source of the delay is not definitively known, it appears to stem from external pressure, potentially outside the IDF legal division. The Justice Ministry reportedly favored publishing the reports as scheduled, and the Foreign Ministry has not denied seeking a delay, though it has not confirmed it either.

The Prime Minister's Office has denied being the source of the delay. However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar have generally adopted a confrontational stance toward international allegations of IDF war crimes, contrasting with the pre-October 7, 2023, policy of rapidly sharing information from IDF investigations. Top Israeli legal officials have expressed concerns that such information could be misused by international bodies like the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Previous updates on IDF probes have been sparse, with the last general update issued in August 2024. Despite repeated assurances from top IDF sources since mid-2024 that decisions were imminent, delays have persisted. The transition of IDF Chief of Staff from Herzi Halevi to Eyal Zamir, and the subsequent resignation of Offir's predecessor, Yifat Tomer Yerushalmi, in October 2025, have also been cited as factors contributing to the ongoing postponements.