A French grandmother has filed a legal complaint in Paris accusing Israeli authorities of responsibility for the deaths of her two grandchildren in Gaza during an airstrike in October 2023. The case includes charges of murder and genocide and was lodged on Friday with the crimes against humanity division of the Paris Judicial Court.
The complaint relates to the deaths of Janna and Abderrahim Abudaher, aged 6 and 9, who were killed when their family home in northern Gaza was struck by two missiles on 24 October 2023.
The missiles were allegedly fired by Israeli F-16 jets.
The airstrike occurred 17 days after Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israeli soil.
The 48-page lawsuit was lodged by lawyer Arié Alimi on behalf of Jacqueline Rivault – the children's maternal grandmother.
The children are French nationals, which means the case could fall under the jurisdiction of French courts.
Israeli leadership targeted
Rivault accuses the Israeli authorities of murder, crimes against humanity, genocide and complicity in those crimes.
Although filed against unnamed persons – "X" – the complaint explicitly names Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli government and the country's military (IDF).
For Rivault, the case also highlights France’s failure to protect its own citizens. The French government "should have evacuated French nationals living in the Gaza Strip,” she told France Info public radio.
The complaint argues that the strike was not an isolated event but part of a broader campaign to “eliminate the Palestinian population and subject them to conditions intended to bring about the destruction of the group” – a core element in the legal definition of genocide.
According to the filing, the Abudaher family fled their apartment due to heavy bombing, seeking refuge in two other locations before settling in a house in northern Gaza, near Fallujah and Beit Lahia.
The house was hit by two missiles – one piercing the roof, the other striking the room where the family had gathered.
Abderrahim died instantly, Janna died shortly after being taken to the hospital. Their brother Omar survived with serious injuries. Their mother, Yasmine Z, was also wounded.
Yasmine Z, previously convicted in absentia in France for financing terrorism, remains in Gaza and is subject to a French arrest warrant.
What is genocide and is it happening in Gaza?
Seeking accountability
Rivault's lawyer Alimi said the case aims to ensure accountability beyond Israeli borders. "It is necessary that those who were involved, in one way or another, in acts that could be classified as crimes against humanity or genocide, know that when they leave Israel's borders they can be arrested anywhere,” he told France Info.
Responsibility lies not only with leaders, he said, "but anyone who will have participated in one way or another".
The lawsuit joins a growing list of international efforts to hold Israeli officials accountable for alleged war crimes and genocide – charges Israel strongly denies, calling them "scandalous".
Israel hits back at 'distorted' genocide case amid ongoing Gaza conflict
The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The International Federation for Human Rights was the first to declare Israel’s actions as genocidal in December 2023. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch followed suit in 2024.
In January, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to take all measures to prevent acts of genocide. In mid-May, the UN's top humanitarian official called on world leaders to act to prevent a genocide in Gaza.
France points to Netanyahu immunity from ICC war crimes warrant
Similar legal actions have been initiated in Switzerland, the Netherlands and Germany.
In France, three complaints have recently been filed against dual French-Israeli citizens or IDF soldiers, accusing them of genocide or complicity in genocide – although none have gained traction so far.
(with AFP)
