War crimes probe urged against two Israeli snipers who intentionally killed civilian women, children

FIDH, along with its Palestinian and French member organisations Al-Haq, Al Mezan, PCHR and the LDH, as well as the AFPS, are calling for the opening of an investigation against two French-Israeli soldiers, Sasha A. and Gabriel B. These two soldiers, belonging to the same sniper unit within the Israeli Occupying Forces (IOF), are accused of being involved in summary executions in Gaza. Other complaints against dual-national soldiers from the same unit will soon be filed in Italy and before other European courts, while investigations are already ongoing in South Africa and Belgium.

Paris, 1 July 2025. The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and its member organisations continue their fight against the impunity of those responsible for international crimes.

Today, Tuesday, July 2, 2025, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), along with its Palestinian and French member organisations – Al-Haq, Al Mezan, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), and the Ligue des droits de l’Homme (LDH) – as well as the Association France Palestine Solidarité (AFPS), filed a civil party complaint before the War Crimes Unit of the Paris Tribunal.

The complaint targets Sasha A. and Gabriel B., two French-Israeli snipers who participated in Israel’s military operation in Gaza.

The two soldiers are accused of willful killings – constituting war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.

These complaints are based on a documentary made by the Palestinian journalist Younis Tirawi, which reveals the existence of a sniper unit – the 9th Platoon of the Auxiliary Company of the 202nd Paratroopers Battalion – within the Israeli army, referred to as the “Ghost Unit” in the documentary. Soldiers of this unit are accused of summarily executing Palestinian civilians between November 2023 and March 2024 in Gaza. French-Israelis’ soldiers Sasha A. and Gabriel B. were among the members of this unit, which is mainly composed of dual nationals.

Significant evidence gathered by the complaining organisations have corroborated the facts presented in the documentary.

“Through a thorough investigation, we have gathered testimonies from numerous victims in Gaza and verified them through open-source intelligence, corroborating claims that Israeli snipers carried out summary executions of Palestinian civilians at Nasser Hospital in early 2024,” said Issam Younis, General Director of Al Mezan. “The convergence of eyewitness accounts and the visual documentation presented by Tirawi strongly points to the involvement of the same snipers in a coordinated campaign of extrajudicial killings across various locations in Gaza.”

Approximately 4,000 French nationals are currently believed to be serving in the Israeli Occupying Forces

Since 7 October 2023, Israel’s genocidal military campaign in Gaza has killed at least 56,500 Palestinians, including more than 16,000 children. More than 125,000 individuals have been wounded.

“By deliberately targeting and killing Palestinian civilians with the intent to destroy the Palestinian population in Gaza, these Israeli snipers have violated fundamental rules of international law, including acts prohibited under the Genocide Convention.” declared Shawan Jabarin, General Director of Al-Haq.

“The summary execution of Palestinian civilians in Gaza constitutes a gross violation of international humanitarian law, which absolutely prohibits such acts. These crimes must not go unpunished: States must identify, prosecute, and sanction any of their nationals who may be involved.” said Raji Sourani, General Director of the PCHR.

“It follows from France’s international commitments that States bear primary responsibility for prosecuting the perpetrators of international crimes. France must ensure that these crimes do not go unpunished and guarantee the prosecution of those responsible, especially when they are its own nationals,” stated Emmanuel Daoud, lawyer for LDH and AFPS.

“FIDH and its member organisations are strongly committed to the fight against impunity for crimes committed in Gaza and will pursue all available legal avenues, including national courts that may have jurisdiction over these international crimes”, declared Alexis Deswaef, lawyer and FIDH Vice President, and Clémence Bectarte, lawyer and coordinator of FIDH Litigation Action Group.

Complaints targeting dual nationals snipers from the same unit will soon be filed in Italy by StraLi, alongside FIDH and its members organisations, as well as before other European courts.

In December 2024, FIDH and its member organisations had filed a civil party complaint against a French-Israeli soldier, Yoel O., for acts of torture and degrading treatment against Palestinian detainees. To date, no investigation has been opened on this filing.

Click here to read this press release in French.

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