It’s not just Israeli leaders who may need to exercise caution while traveling abroad. Now, Israeli soldiers who served in Gaza appear to face an increasing risk of arrest due to allegations of war crimes related to Israel’s military actions in the besieged Palestinian territory.
One soldier, who had been vacationing in Brazil, fled the country earlier this month after a Brazilian judge ordered an investigation into war crime accusations. This legal action was prompted by a filing alleging the soldier’s involvement in war crimes during the Gaza offensive.
In a statement to NBC News, Israel’s Foreign Ministry confirmed it assisted the former soldier in leaving Brazil on a commercial flight. The ministry attributed the investigation request to “anti-Israel elements.” It further stated that the Consular Section and the Israeli Embassy in Brazil helped the soldier and his family throughout the process, ensuring his swift departure.
The ministry also cautioned Israelis against posting about their military service on social media, warning that such posts could be exploited by “anti-Israeli elements” to initiate legal actions.
The legal case was brought by the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF), a Belgium-based group dedicated to documenting the actions of Israeli soldiers in Gaza and pursuing justice for alleged war crimes. The HRF accused the soldier of participating in the widespread demolition of civilian homes in Gaza as part of a coordinated destruction campaign.
Maira Pinheiro, HRF’s lead lawyer, argued that the soldier’s actions were not those of a distant commander but a direct participant in the destruction. "This individual actively contributed to the destruction of homes and livelihoods, and his own statements and behavior clearly align with the genocidal objectives in Gaza,” Pinheiro said.
On December 30, Judge Raquel Soares Charelli, citing Brazilian law, directed federal police to investigate the soldier for potential war crimes. HRF also claimed that Israeli officials had assisted the soldier in fleeing Brazil. Neither the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor a spokesman for Defense Minister Israel Katz commented on the incident, and both the Foreign Ministry and the Israeli Defense Forces did not immediately respond to NBC’s inquiries.
Brazilian federal police also had no immediate comment.
This case in Brazil has sparked outrage and concern in Israel, where officials strongly deny the allegations of war crimes and accuse international courts of antisemitism for pursuing such cases. The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants in November for Netanyahu and former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes related to Gaza.
In Israel, the situation has triggered political debate. Yuli Edelstein, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, announced an urgent discussion in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, regarding how to safeguard IDF soldiers from potential war crime charges abroad.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid criticized the government, blaming Israel’s leadership for the soldier’s predicament. "The fact that an Israeli reservist had to flee Brazil in the dead of night to avoid arrest for fighting in Gaza is a huge political failure by an irresponsible government," Lapid wrote on social media.
Yuval Kaplinsky, former Director of the International Affairs Department at Israel’s State Attorney’s Office, dismissed the Israeli response as exaggerated. He clarified that the case in Brazil only involved a judge deciding to launch an investigation based on publicly available evidence. "If a soldier didn’t record themselves committing war crimes or boasting about it, they shouldn’t worry about being arrested," Kaplinsky said.
However, some human rights advocates have praised the case. Kenneth Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch, stated that the Brazilian case underscores the principle of universal jurisdiction, meaning war crimes can be prosecuted by any national court, regardless of direct connection to the conflict in Gaza.
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