An Israeli army reservist on holiday in India, who was accused of war crimes by the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF), appears to have fled the country, a lawyer associated with the case told Middle East Eye on Thursday.
According to the lawyer who filed the case and asked for anonymity over security concerns, Eitan Gilboa, a member of Israel’s 271st Combat Engineering Battalion, is likely to have left India, where he was vacationing, a few days after the complaint was filed.
The latest development comes just two weeks after the Brussels-based HRF filed a complaint with Indian authorities seeking the arrest of Gilboa for alleged crimes against humanity in Gaza.
The organisation said that Gilboa was involved in the demolition of residential areas in Gaza, which he documented in videos and photos that were shared on social media.
In these images, Gilboa is seen ordering and celebrating the demolition of civilian homes in Khan Younis and Rafah during Israel’s war on the enclave, which has been recognised as a genocide by the United Nations, human rights organisations and genocide scholars.
MEE has seen several pieces of evidence in HRF’s possession.
These acts, the HRF said, violate the Fourth Geneva Convention and amount to war crimes under India’s Geneva Conventions Act, 1960.
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“Eitan Gilboa is not a tourist. He is a war criminal currently enjoying the hospitality of India while fleeing the consequences of his crimes,” HRF general director Dyab Abou Jahjah said in a comment shared by the organisation, when the complaint was filed.
Jahjah added that New Delhi should not allow its soil “to become a safe haven for those who celebrate the destruction of civilian lives”.
‘Tepid’ response
The HRF said the filing against Gilbao was just the latest in a campaign to investigate and pursue the prosecution of alleged Israeli war crimes suspects across the globe.
Since its formation in 2024, HRF has filed more than 90 criminal complaints across 30 jurisdictions.
Along with Thailand and Sri Lanka, India has become a popular destination for Israelis who have completed their military service.
It is estimated that tens of thousands of Israelis travel each year to India – particularly to the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains, in what is known as “the Hummus trail” – ostensibly to rest, party and rejuvenate.
Gilbao, who was born in an illegal Israeli settlement in Gaza and lived in Moshav Morag, an Israeli agricultural settlement located in the southwestern Gaza Strip before Israel withdrew settlers from Gaza in 2004, travelled with the Israeli army to the enclave after the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel.
Following the end of his service, he is said to have travelled to India, where he was spotted in Old Manali and the Gondla village in Himachal Pradesh.
Despite India’s obligations under the Geneva Conventions Act of 1960, the Indian government’s response to the complaint was “tepid”, the lawyer said.
“We expected that there would be some action and that India would move to enforce its obligations under the GCA as well as international law, but the only response was an email by the Bureau of Immigration asking for HRF’s contact number, and that was shared,” the lawyer said.
“There was no follow-up after that,” the lawyer added.
India-Israel ties
On 16 June, the New York-based Polis Project reported that documents reviewed by HRF indicated the complaint had been forwarded to the Foreigners Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The department is typically responsible for cancelling visas.
However, no action was taken within the allotted period during which deportations could be carried out.
In its complaint on 2 June, HRF demanded that Indian authorities immediately arrest Gilboa, lodge a First Information Report (FIR) against him, and order his deportation from India in the event that an arrest is not possible.
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The complaint is the first of its kind in India and comes amid burgeoning ties between India and Israel.
Earlier this year, India-Israel relations were upgraded to a Special Strategic Partnership for Peace, Innovation & Prosperity, with military and economic agreements forming the heart of the deal.
As part of a raft of new MoUs signed between the two parties, the Israeli government said the duo would “act to strengthen and expand tourism ties, as part of the broader governmental effort to enhance bilateral cooperation”.
“Within this framework, operational steps will be examined to increase travel volumes between the countries and to tailor joint tourism products to target audiences, with an emphasis on heritage tourism and business tourism,” the Israeli government said.
The Israeli government, including diplomats and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has repeatedly lauded New Delhi’s diplomatic support over the past two and a half years.
India has refused to back South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that accused Israel of genocide in Gaza.
It has also declined to join an arms embargo on Israel, while continuing to send military components to it.
In May, an Al Jazeera analysis of Israeli Tax Authority import data between 2022 and 2025 found that India was among five countries that sent the most amount of military-related goods to Israel since the ICJ ruling in January 2024.
