Two Israeli soldiers accused of war crimes in Gaza were arrested and interrogated by Belgian authorities before eventually being released, media reports and an advocacy group said Monday.

According to Belgian media reports, the arrests followed urgent legal complaints filed by the Hind Rajab Foundation and the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) earlier this week. The soldiers were detained at the Tomorrowland music festival in Boom, Belgium.

After examining the case, prosecutors decided they had jurisdiction under Article 14/10 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which grants Belgian courts extraterritorial authority over international crimes such as war crimes covered by the Geneva Conventions and torture as defined by the UN Convention Against Torture.

Following these developments, police located and formally interviewed the two soldiers before releasing them. Belgian authorities have confirmed that a criminal investigation is ongoing but declined to provide further details at this stage.

In a statement, the Hind Rajab Foundation welcomed the move as “a turning point in the global pursuit of accountability,” noting it was the first time in Europe that Israeli suspects linked to alleged war crimes in Gaza were arrested and questioned.

“To the victims and survivors in Gaza: we see you, we hear you, and we carry your demands for justice forward. To those who believed impunity was permanent: this moment shows that it is not,” the foundation said, calling for the investigation to be pursued fully and independently.

Israel has killed over 59,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in the Gaza Strip since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, collapsed the health system, and led to severe food shortages and deaths by starvation.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Belgian federal police have detained two ‘Israeli’ soldiers accused of committing war crimes in Gaza, following a legal complaint filed by two international rights organizations.

According to a statement released Monday by the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF), the soldiers were in Belgium to attend the Tomorrowland music festival in Boom when they were identified and arrested.

“The suspects were identified and arrested with a clear show of force at the Tomorrowland festival in Boom,” HRF stated. “After being taken into custody, they were formally interrogated and released. The Belgian Federal Prosecutor’s Office has confirmed that a criminal investigation is now underway.”

Read more: Hind Rajab Foundation pursues “Israeli” soldiers at Belgium music festival

The HRF’s action was prompted by the alleged presence of young “Israeli” soldiers at Tomorrowland waving the flag of the “Israeli” Givati Brigade, a unit the HRF says is “extensively documented for its role in the systematic destruction of civilian infrastructure in Gaza and for carrying out mass atrocities against the Palestinian population”.

The foundation asserts that the Givati flag has become a “symbol of impunity, destruction, and ethnic cleansing”.

The individuals are accused of direct involvement in crimes such as indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas, use of torture and human shields, mass arbitrary detention, forced displacement, and deliberate infliction of conditions calculated to destroy the Palestinian population.

The complaint, filed last week by HRF and the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), accuses the soldiers of involvement in war crimes committed during ‘Israel’s’ military operations in Gaza.

In a joint statement, the two organizations welcomed the move, calling it “a significant step forward.” They added, “It signals that Belgium has recognised its jurisdiction under international law and is treating the allegations with the seriousness they deserve.

“At a time when far too many governments remain silent, this action sends a clear message: credible evidence of international crimes must be met with legal response – not political indifference.”

The case marks a rare instance of European authorities pursuing legal action against individuals accused of war crimes in Gaza.

In a landmark development for global justice, Belgian federal police have arrested two Israeli soldiers accused of committing war crimes in the besieged Gaza Strip.

The arrests follow a formal complaint lodged by the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) and the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), marking a rare but powerful international response to Israel’s escalating atrocities against the Palestinian people.

The two suspects, who had reportedly entered Belgium to attend the Tomorrowland music festival in Boom, were identified and taken into custody in what HRF described as a “clear show of force.” According to the organization’s statement on Monday, the soldiers were formally interrogated and later released pending further legal proceedings.

Belgium’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office has confirmed that a criminal investigation into the allegations is now underway, signaling an important step toward accountability under international law.

The case was initiated last week by HRF and GLAN, based on documented evidence linking the soldiers to direct participation in attacks against Palestinian civilians during the Israeli occupation’s brutal assault on Gaza. The rights groups welcomed Belgium’s move as “a significant step forward.”

“At a time when far too many governments remain silent, this action sends a clear message: credible evidence of international crimes must be met with legal response – not political indifference,” the joint statement read.

The arrests come as mounting evidence continues to emerge of systematic war crimes committed by Israeli forces, including mass killings, starvation tactics, targeting of hospitals, and the destruction of essential civilian infrastructure in Gaza. International outrage has intensified in recent months as the death toll in the besieged enclave surpasses 38,000, with the majority being women and children.

The HRF, named in memory of 6-year-old Hind Rajab who was deliberately targeted and killed by Israeli forces earlier this year after being trapped in a car with her dead relatives, has been actively pursuing legal avenues across Europe to ensure that Israeli military officials are held to account.

Human rights advocates across Europe have applauded Belgium’s decision to exercise universal jurisdiction, a legal principle that allows countries to prosecute individuals for the gravest crimes – including war crimes and crimes against humanity – regardless of where they were committed.

The development also comes amid growing calls from civil society and international legal scholars for European governments to halt arms sales to Israel, impose sanctions, and take concrete legal steps to end the impunity long enjoyed by the occupying regime.

For Palestinians and justice advocates worldwide, the arrests in Belgium represent a glimmer of hope in an otherwise bleak landscape of global inaction and complicity. As investigations proceed, the international community will be watching closely to see whether Belgium will lead by example in confronting war crimes with the moral and legal urgency they demand. (ILKHA)

Belgian authorities have said they briefly held and questioned two Israeli citizens who attended an electronic music festival last week, after pro-Palestinian groups accused them of war crimes.

Prosecutors said they had received legal complaints alleging that two Israeli soldiers responsible for “serious violations of international humanitarian law” in Gaza were spotted at the Tomorrowland festival near the northern city of Antwerp.

The federal prosecutor’s office said it had asked the police to locate the two people named in the complaint and to interview them. “Following these interviews, they were released,” it said in a statement.

The office said it had taken action after concluding that Belgian courts had extraterritorial jurisdiction over alleged war crimes. “No further information will be given at this stage of the investigation,” the office said.

The two Israelis have not been named.

Last week, the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF), a Belgian pro-Palestinian organisation, said it had identified two Israeli soldiers “responsible for grave international crimes” in Gaza among the crowds at Tomorrowland.

It claimed that a group of young Israeli men were seen at the festival waving a flag of the Givati Brigade, an Israeli military unit involved in the fighting in the Palestinian territory.

HRF said it had filed a complaint with prosecutors in association with the Global Legal Action Network, a lawyers’ group specialising in human rights violations.

One of the world’s largest electronic music festivals, Tomorrowland draws music enthusiasts from all over the world. About 400,000 people are expected to attend the event this year over two weekends.

Belgian authorities said on Monday that they had briefly held and questioned two israeli citizens who attended an electronic music festival, after pro-Palestinian groups accused them of war crimes.

Prosecutors said they received legal complaints alleging that two Israeli soldiers responsible for “serious violations of international humanitarian law” in Gaza were spotted at the Tomorrowland festival near the northern city of Antwerp last week.

The federal prosecutor’s office said it had “asked the police to locate the two people named in the complaint and to interview them”.

“Following these interviews, they were released,” it said in a statement.

The office said that it took action after concluding that Belgian courts have extraterritorial jurisdiction over alleged war crimes.

“No further information will be given at this stage of the investigation,” the office said.

The pair have not been named.

Last week, the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF), a Belgian pro-Palestinian organisation, said it had identified two Israeli soldiers “responsible for grave international crimes” in Gaza among the crowds at Tomorrowland.

It claimed that a group of young Israeli men was seen at the festival waving a flag of the Givati Brigade, an Israeli military unit involved in the fighting in the Palestinian territory.

HRF said it then filed a complaint with prosecutors in association with the Global Legal Action Network, a lawyers group specialising in human rights violations.

One of the world’s largest electronic music festivals, Tomorrowland draws music enthusiasts from all over the world.

About 400,000 people are expected to attend the event this year over two weekends.

Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel triggered the war in Gaza, where Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed more than 58,000 people, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The UN considers the figures reliable.

Hamas’s attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, also mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.