HRF Files Criminal Complaint Against Belgian-Israeli Sniper Alon ben Sira Based on New Evidence and Victim Accounts

17 June 2026, Brussels, Belgium – The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) filed a criminal complaint against Belgium-Israeli citizen, Alon ben Sira, who served as a sniper in the 9th Sniper Platoon (also known as the Ghost Unit or Refaim) of the Auxiliary Company of the 202nd Paratroopers Battalion in Gaza.

HRF’s submission builds upon the initial complaint submitted by the Association belgo-palestinienne and provides new evidence of war crimes committed by Israel's Ghost Unit during the ongoing genocide in Gaza. It also presents evidence detailing the chain of command and operational deployment of the unit in Gaza City and Khan Younis, specifically concerning the siege and attack on Nasser Hospital. HRF's investigation is further supported by direct testimony and evidence provided by two Palestinian witnesses, one of whom has filed a criminal complaint with the Belgian authorities.

Alon ben Sira is just one of more than 400 Belgian-Israeli dual nationals who served in the Israeli army. HRF will continue to file complaints against individuals identified through its systematic investigation and demand the Belgian authorities investigate them all, given the serious allegations of war crimes and genocide against them.

The Ghost Unit 

In April 2024, journalist Younis Tirawi launched an investigation into the Ghost Unit after an Israeli soldier from the 202nd Paratroopers Battalion uploaded a YouTube video recounting the battalion's operations in Gaza City, including footage of several unarmed individuals being shot and killed, among them individuals in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood near Al-Quds Hospital.

After months of research, Tirawi identified members of the Ghost Unit, including several dual nationals, and uncovered evidence of their involvement in the killing of civilians. As part of the investigation, Tirawi secured an interview with former unit member and US citizen, Daniel Raab, who admitted that he and another unit member, Daniel Graetz, a German citizen, had killed civilians in Gaza.

Still from Ghost Unit footage uploaded to YouTube, showing a unit member positioned inside an apartment building in Gaza.

Der Spiegel, The Guardian, and ZDF subsequently analyzed the interview material alongside geolocated video evidence, drone footage, satellite imagery, and eyewitness testimony. Their joint investigations corroborated key elements of Raab's account and linked them to specific incidents in Gaza, including deliberate targeting of civilians near Al-Quds Hospital, including specific targeting of members of the Doghmosh family.

Several criminal investigations have been subsequently opened against dual-national members of the unit in Belgium, France, Germany, and Italy.

HRF’s New Evidence: The Ghost Unit and the Destruction of Gaza

Additionally, HRF's investigation uncovered critical new evidence linking the Ghost Unit to controlled demolitions carried out in Gaza City. 

According to HRF's investigation, the Ghost Unit appears to have been deployed alongside the 8219th Combat Engineer Battalion in Gaza City and to have operated in direct support of the controlled demolitions carried out by the battalion. The investigation also suggests that snipers were positioned in and around areas where combat engineers were placing explosives inside civilian buildings, securing those operations and ensuring that no interference disrupted the preparation and execution of the unlawful demolitions.

Snipers referred to this perimeter as a "line." Within this self-defined boundary, they shot any individual who crossed it, without distinction between civilians and lawful military targets. This approach resulted in the killing of more than 105 individuals over the course of their deployment.

Specifically, the investigation documented incidents of unlawful building demolitions in Gaza City involving Ghost Unit snipers in:

• Sheikh Ajlin neighborhood (14-21 November 2023)
• Tel Al-Hawa neighborhood (14-23 November 2023)
• Shuja'iyya neighborhood (10-21 December 2023)

Khan Younis Attack and Nasser Hospital Siege

The complaint also analyses the Israeli military assault on Khan Younis and a series of sniper incidents that occurred during the attack and siege of Nasser Hospital between December 2023 and February 2024.

Most significantly, it documents numerous sniper incidents targeting individuals in and around the hospital complex during the siege.

Testimonies of Dr. Moghrabi and Journalist Alhelou

HRF's investigation into the siege of Nasser Hospital is grounded in critical evidence provided by two Palestinian witnesses: Dr. Ahmed Ibrahim Moghrabi and journalist Mohammed A. F. Alhelou, the latter having filed a criminal complaint with the Belgian authorities.

Mohammed A. F. Alhelou was shot by snipers despite being clearly identifiable as a journalist, wearing a marked PRESS jacket while covering the siege. He subsequently joined the proceedings as a civil party, represented by HRF lawyer Mr. Jan Fermon.

Both Alhelou and Dr. Moghrabi remained at Nasser Hospital throughout the siege and documented more than a dozen incidents of sniper fire targeting civilians, including children and medical personnel, within the hospital grounds and surrounding areas.

“I was a witness and a victim of sniper operations, arrests, torture, and quadcopter shootings. Even the doctors and the wounded—those who were inside or outside the hospital—were injured and killed.
The journalist's role is not limited to transmitting news, but also to preserving evidence and holding criminals accountable.”

Dr. Moghrabi was formally interviewed by the Belgian Federal Police in November 2025, in a proceeding facilitated by HRF, regarding the siege and the specific sniper attacks he witnessed.

The detailed accounts of both witnesses and victims corroborate the systematic nature of the attacks on the medical facility and demonstrate their devastating impact on the civilians trapped within.

“We were receiving fatalities and people wounded from sniper fire and quadcopters inside the [Nasser] hospital. Among them were displaced people and medical staff.
A patient was hit by sniper fire in the neck while inside the bathroom.
One of my colleagues was a nurse. I was operating on a child, and as we went to drink a cup of tea on the balcony away from the window, he was shot in the right side of his chest.”

Statements from HRF

Dyab Abou Jahjah, General Director of HRF:

“The Belgian authorities now have a clear legal and moral responsibility to act. The evidence concerning Alon ben Sira’s alleged involvement in war crimes is serious, concrete, and actionable. Belgium must extend its criminal investigation, pursue all necessary investigative measures, and, where the evidence confirms criminal responsibility, bring this case before a court of law. Accountability cannot remain theoretical.

If a Belgian national participated in crimes committed against civilians in Gaza, Belgium has the duty to investigate and prosecute.”

 Natacha Bracq, Head of Litigation at HRF:

“This investigation has uncovered the horrifying reality of how the Ghost Unit functioned as a systematic killing and destruction machine. After months of thorough investigation, HRF is presenting the Belgian authorities with substantial evidence of the unit’s involvement in systematic war crimes, including its role in the attack on Khan Younis, where numerous civilians were killed.

Our findings also indicate that these snipers were integral components of Israel’s broader demolition campaign, establishing lethal perimeters that enabled the mass destruction of civilian homes while terrorizing and executing Palestinians. Beyond Khan Younis, our ongoing investigation has uncovered their alleged role in controlled demolitions in Gaza City.”

 Jan Fermon, HRF Lawyer:

“A successful accountability process for international crimes always relies on complementary action by international and national courts. Belgium, like most European countries, is home to citizens and residents of Palestinian origin who have lost their entire families during the genocidal war on Gaza. Belgians have also served in the Israeli army that committed (and continues to commit) crimes in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon.

Bringing perpetrators of such crimes to justice is an obligation for all countries under international law. The presence of Belgians both amongst the victims and perpetrators creates a particular responsibility on the part of the Belgian judicial authorities. Looking the other way is not an option.”