The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF), named after the 5yo victim of an Israeli massacre in Gaza, has filed a criminal complaint with UK authorities against Lidor Dafna. The complaint calls for the investigation and arrest of Lidor Dafna for his part in Israel’s war crimes, crimes against humanity and acts of genocide in Gaza.
According to HRF’s filing, Dafna – a member of the IOF’s 603rd Combat Engineering Battalion, was part of the destruction of the Great Ocean flour mills located between Khan Younis and Rafah. Dafna himself posted footage of his participation on his social media on May 25, 2025, including video of a D9 military bulldozer destroying wheat silos:
Israel has used starvation as a weapon against besieged Palestinian civilians as part of its genocide. According to HRF:
The 603rd Battalion has served as a core operational arm in Israel’s systematic destruction across the Gaza Strip. HRF documented over 60 controlled demolitions of buildings, including mosques and entire residential blocks, and the razing of entire communities that rendered large swathes of Gaza uninhabitable. The battalion also played a key role in establishing the Morag Corridor, a process accompanied by the widespread and systematic destruction of civilian infrastructure, agricultural land and the built environment.
Dafna’s Crimes
HRF’s investigation indicates that Dafna may be criminally responsible for war crimes, including:
- Extensive destruction of property not justified by military necessity;
- Intentionally directing attacks against civilian objects;
- Intentionally using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare;
- The crime against humanity of extermination; and
- The act of genocide consisting of deliberately inflicting on the Palestinian group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction, in whole or in part.
HRF director Dyab Abou Jahjah said:
Lidor Dafna filmed himself destroying one of the last remaining food production facilities serving a starving population, then posted the footage on social media as a trophy.
The United Kingdom now faces a simple test: will it arrest and prosecute a man, who remains an active soldier of an army carrying out such crimes, or once again permit a perpetrator of genocide to walk freely on its soil and return to Gaza to continue committing his crimes? We have filed our complaint. Now it is up to the British authorities to act.
Israel’s agents have threatened the lives of Abou Jahjah and his family because of HRF’s effectiveness in pursuing Israeli war criminals and forcing them to flee.