A criminal complaint has been filed in Vietnam against an Israeli reserve soldier over alleged war crimes, genocide and incitement to genocide in the Gaza Strip and south Lebanon. The Brussels-based rights group Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) filed the complaint with the Vietnamese authorities, according to a report by the news agency Anadolu.
The accused soldier is named as Matan Zerafi. He is the chief executive (CEO) of the Israeli organisation “Im Tirtzu” and served in the 920th infantry battalion of the 769th brigade of the Israeli forces.
In a statement, HRF said Zerafi had himself documented his direct involvement in destroying civilian property in Gaza and south Lebanon. According to the evidence, between December 2023 and January 2024 he directly took part in destroying civilian infrastructure in the Shujaiya and Rimal areas of Gaza City and in the Bureij and Maghazi refugee camps in central Gaza. He was later moved to south Lebanon around October and November 2024, where he carried out similar destruction, it said.
The group has accused Zerafi of direct and public incitement to genocide, saying he had spoken in favour of expelling Palestinians from Gaza, justified attacks on civilians and opposed the entry of humanitarian aid.
He is quoted as saying on 1 February 2024: “Gaza’s civilians are part of Hamas. We should not have mercy on them.”
HRF director general Dyab Abou Jahjah and litigation head Natacha Brac have called on the Vietnamese authorities to arrest Zerafi immediately and open an investigation under international law and treaties.
The rights group is named after Hind Rajab, a Palestinian child killed in an Israeli attack in Gaza City on 29 January 2024. The foundation works to bring Israeli military officials before international courts. BD Global Times could not independently verify the allegations.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report