HRF Urges U.S. Prosecution of US-Israeli Soldier Efi Rubenstein for War Crimes and Genocide in Gaza

Efi Rubenstein, a dual U.S.-Israeli national, participated in war crimes across Gaza as a member of the Vampire Empire Company, the same company responsible for the murder of Hind Rajab. While Rubenstein himself was hospitalized at the time of Hind's murder, he still participated in the Vampire Empire Company's widespread campaign of criminality before and after the murder. Specifically, the HRF alleges that Rubenstein participated in attacks on Al-Shifa hospital, the Rafah Crossing, Palestine Square, and an unidentified mosque.

The U.S. has a responsibility to prosecute all alleged war criminals within its jurisdiction. This responsiblility applies with even more force when that alleged war criminal is a U.S. national.

10 November 2026 – Brussels, Belgium / New York, United States — The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) has filed a request for prosecution with the U.S. Department of Justice against Efi Rubenstein, a dual U.S.-Israeli national, based on evidence of his involvement in war crimes and acts of genocide committed in the Gaza Strip. 

Rubenstein was a member of the Vampire Empire Company of the 52nd Battalion in the 401st Brigade.

His unit is alleged to have been involved in the murder of Hind Rajab, members of her family, and the two paramedics dispatched to rescue them in Gaza City on 29 January 2024. While Rubenstein himself was in hospital on that day, he participated in other crimes committed by the Vampire Empire Company both before and after Hind's murder in January 2024.

A Campaign of Criminality

Throughout the genocide in Gaza, the Vampire Empire Company has been engaged in a campaign of criminality across the Gaza Strip. HRF has documented Efi Rubenstein’s likely participation in the destruction of Palestine Square and the surrounding Rimal Neighborhood in Gaza City, the siege and destruction of the Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City, the attack on Rafah City, and the destruction of an unidentified mosque in the Strip.

What all these incidents have in common is the Vampire Empire Company and Efi Rubenstein’s consistent disregard for the law of war and for Palestinian life. 

• In Palestine Square and Rimal, Rubenstein participated in the destruction of commercial premises and apartment buildings abandoned by their owners in the face of the Israeli onslaught. These buildings were destroyed despite their protected civilian status and without any possible military necessity. 
• At Al-Shifa, Rubenstein’s Vampire Empire Company played a key role in the siege and eventual raid and destruction of the medical complex. At the time of the raid, Al-Shifa was not only serving as a life-saving and life-sustaining medical facility for the wounded but also as a shelter for thousands of displaced Palestinians. The siege resulted in further displacement as well as the deaths of numerous patients and medical staff. Ultimately, the medical complex was rendered inoperable, deepening Gaza’s already critical health crisis, and contributing significantly to the genocide. Summary executions of civilians have also been reported. 
• In Rafah City, Rubenstein and the Vampire Empire Company again targeted critical civilian infrastructure, including the Rafah Crossing. The crossing was a civilian border facility and one of the principal remaining routes for humanitarian assistance and the medical evacuation of critically ill and wounded Palestinians. With Gaza’s population already experiencing an extreme humanitarian crisis by May 2024, rendering it unusable had foreseeable civilian consequences extending far beyond its physical destruction.

It is clear from Rubenstein’s social media posts, as well as from the social media of other soldiers in the Vampire Empire Company, that he carried out these criminal attacks with genocidal intent.

According to one post, Rubenstein states, "In the place where the vilest murderers of human history left, nothing will remain."

Legal Qualification of the Acts and Legal Action

Given that Rubenstein is a U.S. national, HRF submitted that the U.S. has both the jurisdiction and obligation to prosecute him for war crimes under 18 U.S.C. §2441, namely:

1. Unlawful deportation or transfer of a protected person 18 U.S.C. §2441(c)(1); Geneva Convention IV Art. 147;
2. Extensive destruction of property not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly. Geneva Convention IV Article 147; 18 U.S.C. §2441(c)(1);
3. Failure to take all necessary steps to spare, as far as possible, buildings dedicated to religion, art, science, or charitable purposes, historic monuments, hospitals, and places where the sick and wounded are collected, provided they are not being used at the time for military purposes. The Hague Convention IV (1907) Regulations: Art. 27(g); 18 U.S.C. §2441(c)(2);
4. Attacking or bombarding by whatever means, towns, villages, dwellings, or buildings which are undefended. The Hague Convention IV (1907) Regulations: Art. 25; 18 U.S.C. §2441(c)(2); and
5. Direct perpetration of genocide under 18 U.S.C. §1091.

The available evidence indicates the targeted civilian infrastructure did not meet the criteria of military objectives at the time of their destruction. The Vampire Empire Company’s attacks—particularly its attack on the Al-Shifa Medical Complex and the attack on Rafah City— instead appear to have been carried out as part of a broader policy of territorial control, forced displacement, and intentionally manufactured health crises, subjecting the Palestinian people to conditions of life intended to cause their physical destruction, in whole or in part.

Rubenstein’s intent to contribute to the destruction of Gaza was evident in his social media post: “In the place where the vilest murderers of human history left, nothing will remain.”

HRF requested that the U.S. Department of Justice: 

• Immediately open a criminal investigation into Rubenstein based on credible, publicly available, and verified evidence;
• Following an investigation, issue a warrant for his arrest, pursuant to Rule 4 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure and 18 U.S.C. §2441 and §1091;
• Take Rubenstein into custody without delay and commence prosecution before a competent U.S. federal court; or, in the alternative, prevent Rubenstein from leaving U.S. jurisdiction pending a full investigation into his alleged crimes. 
• Alert immigration and border authorities to prevent flight and ensure his lawful detention pending trial; or, in the event that Rubenstein is not currently within U.S. jurisdiction, to facilitate capture;
• Comply with Article 146 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which mandates that States Parties: “shall be under the obligation to search for persons alleged to have committed, or to have ordered to be committed, such grave breaches, and shall bring such persons, regardless of their nationality, before its own courts.”

Jake Romm, HRF’s Representative in the United States, called on U.S. lawmakers to commit to accountability:

“The murder of Hind Rajab caused an international outcry, and rightly so. But her murder was, sadly, not atypical. It was, rather, a part of a widespread pattern of Israeli criminality — the product of decades of impunity. Mr. Rubenstein may not have participated in the murder directly, but by participating in numerous other crimes along with Hind’s killers, he was a part of the overall culture of impunity that directly led to those murders. Still, make no mistake: Efi Rubenstein has significant blood on his hands. His participation in attacks on key medical and humanitarian infrastructure has led to an as yet untold number of deaths and injuries and as yet untold suffering. ”

Natacha Bracq, Head of Litigation at HRF:

“Efi Rubenstein extensively chronicled his own participation in the genocide, posting dozens of photo albums and stories from inside a destroyed Gaza, leaving no ambiguity as to his purpose and declaring that nothing will remain. His path through Gaza was a path of destruction and death, and he recorded every step of it for the world to witness. We now call on the U.S. Department of Justice to do its part and open a criminal investigation into this war criminal.”

Dyab Abou Jahjah, General Director at HRF:

“This filing opens a new legal front against the Vampire Empire Company of the 401st Brigade, and it will not be the last. HRF is building cases against all the dual nationals who served in this company and took part in the genocide in Gaza. One by one, we will seek justice, for Hind, and for all the wronged and murdered Palestinians. Impunity is not a fate. It is a choice made by states, and we intend to make that choice impossible to sustain.”

HRF calls on the U.S. Department of Justice to open an investigation into the allegations against Rubenstein without delay and take all the necessary steps to pursue criminal prosecution for his alleged war crimes. No suspected war criminal should be able to use U.S. citizenship as a shield against accountability.