On 25 October 2023, six members of the Abujadallah family were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Deir al-Balah in the Gaza Strip: the parents Yousef and Ayah and their four children Salahuddin, Mohammad, Abdulrahman and Omer. The family held German citizenship. There are no indications that the residential building was a military target.
Civilians must be given special protection in armed conflicts – as stipulated in international law. This requirement is repeatedly violated on a daily basis in the context of the ongoing military operations by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip. If the victims are German citizens, it is the responsibility of the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office to investigate whether there is initial suspicion of a crime under the Code of Crimes Against International Law. If such initial suspicion exists, the office must initiate investigations.
The Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office has thus far found no evidence of international crimes and has referred the case to the Dortmund Public Prosecutor's Office, which, as the competent authority for the Abujadallah family's place of residence in Germany, is now responsible for conducting a criminal investigation into their deaths. ECCHR, on the other hand, sees grounds for initial suspicion of crimes under international law. Unlike the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, however, the Dortmund Public Prosecutor's Office is not responsible for investigations under international criminal law. ECCHR has therefore submitted an investigative request to the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office to initiate structural investigations into possible international crimes with the responsible investigative authority.
