Peru has taken a major step in pursuit of accountability for atrocities committed by the Israeli regime in the Gaza Strip, formally assigning a genocide complaint against an Israeli trooper to its Human Rights Prosecutor’s Office.
The procedural move, confirmed on Wednesday by the Hind Rajab Human Rights Foundation (HRF), a Belgium-based body that has referred the case to Peruvian jurisdiction, transitions it from a jurisdictional review to a preliminary investigative phase.
The shift, the body said, meant that Peruvian authorities were now examining the evidence submitted with the complaint, therefore, no longer questioning whether they had the legal authority to do so.
The HRF, meanwhile, reminded that the legal proceedings fall under the scope of Peru’s commitments to the Rome Statute — the treaty that founded the International Criminal Court (ICC) — and the international humanitarian law.
According to the organization, this showed how various legal systems could be mobilized worldwide towards ensuring accountability for the Israeli regime’s and its forces’ genocidal aggression in Gaza.
The developments came as the regime presses on with its war of genocide against the already-impoverished coastal sliver. Tel Aviv began the warfare in October 2023 in response to a historic resistance operation against the occupied Palestinian territories.
The no-holds-barred military onslaught has so far claimed the lives of more than 55,100 Palestinians, mostly women and children.
Filed by human rights attorney Julio César Arbizu González on behalf of the HRF, the case against the trooper focuses on his conduct in the Israeli military’s Combat Engineering Corps.
The HRF has found the trooper in question accountable for systematic demolition of civilian neighborhoods and public infrastructure in Gaza, as part of the genocide.
According to the organization, the unit involved has been repeatedly linked to mass demolitions and strikes on protected civilian structures, raising serious questions under international legal standards about the proportionality and targeting of Israeli military actions in Gaza.
HRF: Case moves beyond jurisdiction to substance
“This development signals a clear shift: Peru is now reviewing the substance of the case,” said Dyab Abou Jahjah, chairman of the foundation. “This is not about theoretical jurisdiction—it is about the facts, the evidence, and accountability for the crimes committed in Gaza.”
