Weeks after a Palestinian rights organization filed a formal criminal complaint over alleged war crimes committed in the Gaza Strip, a second former Israeli soldier facing accusations has departed Indian territory, a legal representative close to the case has confirmed to independent outlet Middle East Eye.
The unnamed former soldier left India in mid-September, according to the lawyer. To date, no official confirmation has been provided on whether his early exit was triggered by the August complaint filed by the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF), or if the departure simply aligned with the pre-planned end of his tourist visit to the country.
The revelation of the soldier’s exit comes at a sensitive diplomatic moment: New Delhi is facing mounting international criticism for its failure to open legal proceedings against Israeli nationals accused of war crimes who enter the country, even as India’s top diplomat delivered a public address calling for universal respect for international law as a foundation for functional global multilateralism.
Speaking at an official event held on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly on Monday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar stated, “Multilateralism will be best served when international law, rules and norms are scrupulously observed.”
This former soldier marks the second Israeli ex-service member accused of grave violations in Gaza to leave India shortly after HRF submitted legal complaints against him. In June, the organization filed similar allegations against Eitan Gilboa, a veteran of Israel’s 271st Combat Engineering Battalion, who was accused of involvement in the deliberate demolition of Palestinian civilian infrastructure during Israeli operations in Gaza. Within days of that complaint being registered, Gilboa also left Indian territory.
Since Israel launched its large-scale military campaign in Gaza following the October 7, 2023 cross-border attacks by Hamas, official Gaza health data records that at least 248,866 Palestinians have been killed or injured across the enclave.
In its second criminal complaint submitted to Indian authorities in mid-August, HRF laid out detailed allegations that the unnamed former soldier participated in acts classified as war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts of genocide. The organization documented that the soldier had openly acknowledged his personal role in the unlawful destruction of civilian property during Israeli military operations in the Khan Younis Governorate, carried out between March and April 2024.
Satellite imagery acquired and verified by HRF shows that Israeli forces carried out widespread leveling of civilian residential structures only after they had already secured full military control over the area — an action that cannot be justified under military necessity as defined by international humanitarian law.
“The suspect and his unit carried out systematic destruction of homes and agricultural land in Gaza – conduct that undoubtedly violates international law,” Dyab Abou Jahjah, HRF’s general director, stated at the time the complaint was filed. “This second complaint filed in India is part of our commitment and duty to bring perpetrators before the courts, and India must comply with its international obligations,” Jahjah added.
The Indian federal government has faced growing international scrutiny over its consistent diplomatic and military support for Israel throughout the ongoing military campaign in Gaza. To date, New Delhi has refused to back a United Nations-advocated arms embargo on Israel, and declined to join South Africa’s landmark case accusing Israel of acts of genocide that is currently being adjudicated by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
India is also not a signatory to the Rome Statute that established the International Criminal Court (ICC), which means it faces no legal obligation under the statute to execute ICC arrest warrants issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
In an August 2025 investigative report, Amnesty International revealed that both Indian state-owned and private defense firms have shipped at least 2,596 separate consignments of military hardware to Israel between October 7, 2023 and November 30, 2024, totaling hundreds of thousands of arms, artillery rounds, ammunition, and critical military components used in the Gaza campaign. The documented shipments included core parts for machine guns, 155mm high-explosive artillery shells supplied to Israeli defense giant Elbit Systems, and pre-assembled explosive warheads for SkyStriker loitering “kamikaze” drones. According to Amnesty’s analysis, these shipments included hundreds of thousands of components for ordnance, small arms, and military vehicles.
In public comments made in November 2024, Minister Jaishankar reaffirmed that India’s policy on military exports would remain guided solely by New Delhi’s calculation of its own “national interest.”
Middle East Eye is an independent media outlet specializing in original, on-the-ground coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa, and surrounding global affairs.