French woman files complaint against Israel over killing of grandchildren in Gaza

A grandmother has filed a complaint for murder and genocide against Israeli authorities, accusing them of responsibility for killing her two Palestinian-French grandchildren in Gaza. 

Israeli forces killed six-year-old Abderrahim Abudaher and nine-year-old Janna Abudaher in northern Gaza on 24 October 2023.

Their maternal grandmother, Jacqueline Rivault - a French national living in France - filed the complaint on Friday in Paris alongside the Ligue des Droits de l’Homme (LDH).

The filing, submitted to the crimes against humanity unit of the Paris judicial court, accuses Israeli authorities of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.

This is the first complaint brought before the French courts based on the passive personality principle - that is, based on the victims' French nationality - to address the issue of responsibility for these crimes, the LDH said.

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This civil action complaint seeks the appointment of an investigating judge. The victims' French nationality could trigger the direct jurisdiction of the French courts and lead them to rule on these accusations of "genocide".

"This complaint aims to contribute to preventing and prosecuting those responsible, whether soldiers or politicians, for the ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip, which indiscriminately affects the entire civilian population of the enclave," the LDH said.

According to the 43-page complaint, which has been shared with Middle East Eye, the "extreme violence" and "regular bombardments" by the Israeli army on Gaza after 7 October led the family to take refuge in a house in the northern Gaza Strip, between Fallujah and Beit Lahia.

There, the house was targeted by "two F16 missiles fired by the Israeli army," one of which hit "through the roof and the second directly into the bedroom where the family was staying".

Abderrahim died "instantly" and Janna shortly after being transferred to the hospital, according to the complaint. Their younger brother, Omar, was seriously wounded but still lives in Gaza, as does his mother, Yasmine Z.

The complaint accuses the Israeli authorities of genocide because the bombing is presented as part of a plan to "eliminate the Palestinian population and subject them to conditions of existence likely to bring about the destruction of their group".

Though it is filed against unknown persons, it specifically names Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, members of the Israeli government and the Israeli army.

The complaint notes that the intention to eradicate the Palestinian people was evident from the statements made by political and military leaders, in particular Netanyahu.

The aim of the complaint, explained Rivault’s lawyer Arie Alimi, is to ensure the arrest of those responsible.

"Those who were involved, in one way or another, in acts that could be classified as crimes against humanity or genocide, must know that upon leaving Israel's borders, they can be arrested anywhere," he said.

Rivault’s only daughter, Yasmine, had gone to Gaza to do humanitarian work. It was there that she met her husband.

Her mother said the French government "should have evacuated the French nationals living in the Gaza Strip".

The ‘weapon’ of criminal law

The LDH said the complaint is intended to have a political impact and is one of many efforts aimed at bringing "these crimes" to an end as soon as possible. 

Its president, Nathalie Tehio, qualified criminal law as “a weapon that allows us to try to stop this infernal mechanism of genocide that we are witnessing."

The LDH is part of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), which was among the first groups to to declare that Israel was committing genocide, followed by Amnesty International a year later and Human Rights Watch.

In January 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) called on Israel to prevent any act of genocide.

Since then, a number of legal actions have been taken in connection with "genocide" accusations against Israel, for example in Switzerland, the Netherlands and Germany.

In France, three complaints have been filed in recent months against French-Israeli nationals accused of genocide or complicity.

Last December, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), along with three Palestinian organisations, filed a complaint against French-Israeli soldier Yoel O.

He is accused of posting a video on social media showing detained Palestinians in white jumpsuits, blindfolded and handcuffed - one of whom appears to show visible signs of torture. The man behind the camera can be heard insulting the detainees in French.

No judicial investigation has been opened in France to date.

On Friday, the French National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office opened a judicial investigation into French-Israelis suspected of involvement in blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza between January and May 2024. The probe includes charges of complicity in genocide, incitement to genocide, and complicity in crimes against humanity, AFP reported, citing a source close to the case.

The investigation follows a complaint filed in November 2024 by the French Jewish Union for Peace (UJFP) and a French-Palestinian victim. The complaint accuses individuals of organising and participating in actions to block humanitarian aid to Gaza - specifically by physically obstructing aid trucks at Israeli-controlled border crossings.

The civil action names figures reportedly with French nationality from two pro-Israel groups, Israel is Forever and Tzav-9. 

middleeasteye.net