Israel Has Dropped All Charges Against Five Israeli Soldiers Who Were Filmed Gang Raping A Palestinian Man In A Detention Center
Major general Itai Ofir announced all charges against the five guards had been dropped "in light of significant developments."
Israel's military has dropped all charges against five soldiers, who were filmed gang raping a Palestinian man at the Sde Teiman military detention facility.
Sde Teiman is an Israeli military base located in the Negev desert, approximately 29 kilometers from the Gaza border and was recently repurposed as a detention facility for Palestinians after Israel began its genocide in Gaza on Oct. 7.
In August 2024, an Israeli channel aired leaked security footage showing Israeli soldiers raping a Palestinian man at a detention center.
The footage showed rows of bound and blindfolded detainees lying on the ground as a group of Israeli soldiers escorted one detainee to the corner of the facility, using their shields to block the cameras from capturing their actions.
The detainee, who had been kidnapped by Israeli soldiers from a refugee camp in Gaza in March 2024, was later transferred after the incident to a hospital with severe physical injuries, including anal trauma, fractured ribs and a ruptured bowel that required surgery.
Following the allegations, nine Israeli soldiers were arrested, including a commanding officer.
In February 2025, the Israeli military announced that five of the nine soldiers had been formally charged for “severe abuse,” aggravated assault and causing serious bodily harm, rather than for rape.
In November 2025, the then-Israeli Military Advocate General and top military lawyer major general Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi admitted she had authorized the leak of the assault video to the media, leading to her resignation and arrest.
Her replacement, major general Itai Ofir, announced on Thursday, March 12, all charges against the five guards had been dropped "in light of significant developments."
Authorities said "exceptional circumstances that negatively affected the ability to prosecute the case while also preserving the right for a fair trial," pointing mainly to the fact that the Palestinian detainee had been released to Gaza as part of a ceasefire agreement in October 2025 and could therefore not be cross-examined in a trial.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who once called the incident "the worst PR disaster in Israel's history," hailed the end of what he called the "blood libel".
“Israel must pursue its enemies — not its heroic fighters," he said.
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