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Israel closes probe into killing of Polish aid worker, Poland summons ambassador

21.08.2026 12:00
Israel's military has said it is closing its case into an Israeli strike that killed a Polish aid worker, prompting Poland to summon Israel's ambassador.
FILE PHOTO: A protester holds a photo of Damian Soból from World Central Kitchen during a pro-Palestinian protest outside the Israeli consulate in Chicago, Illinois, United States on April 5, 2024. Soból was a Polish volunteer who was killed during a humanitarian mission in Gaza on April 1, 2024.
FILE PHOTO: A protester holds a photo of Damian Soból from World Central Kitchen during a pro-Palestinian protest outside the Israeli consulate in Chicago, Illinois, United States on April 5, 2024. Soból was a Polish volunteer who was killed during a humanitarian mission in Gaza on April 1, 2024. Jacek Boczarski / Anadolu/ABACAPRESS.COM

The Israeli military told the AP news agency it had completed a review of 150 cases examining soldiers' conduct during the war against Hamas, which began in October 2023.

Among the findings, the army said it would open an internal criminal investigation into the January 2024 death of Hind Rajab, a 5-year-old girl killed along with relatives as they tried to flee Gaza City.

Israeli troops opened fire on the vehicle carrying Hind, four cousins, and an aunt and uncle.

The army also said it would investigate the deaths of 15 Palestinian medics and aid workers, including eight members of the Palestinian Red Crescent, who were killed in March last year when Israeli soldiers fired on a convoy of rescue vehicles.

The victims' bodies and their wrecked vehicles were later found buried at the scene.

At the same time, the military said it would not pursue charges over three other attacks that killed workers from the World Central Kitchen and Doctors Without Borders aid groups.

The AP reported that the announcement made no mention of other high-profile incidents, including a strike on a hospital in southern Gaza that killed five journalists in August 2025.

The decision to close the World Central Kitchen case drew swift protest from Poland, whose national, Damian Soból, was among seven aid workers killed when Israeli forces struck a WCK convoy on April 1, 2024, near Deir al-Balah.

The dead also included British and Australian nationals, a dual US-Canadian citizen and a Palestinian driver. World Central Kitchen suspended its Gaza operations after the attack.

Poland's foreign ministry said it received news of the closure "with great disappointment" and summoned Israel's ambassador to Warsaw.

The ministry said it pressed Israel to hand over "all the necessary explanations and materials requested by Polish investigators," adding that a separate Polish investigation, led by prosecutors in Soból’s hometown of Przemyśl, remains open and was extended through October.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not accept the perpetrators evading legal and moral responsibility," the ministry said in a statement.

"The families deserve adequate compensation," it added.

(jh)

Source: PAP, Polish Radio