Lithuania declines investigation into Israeli student over alleged Gaza war crimes

Lithuania’s Prosecutor General’s Office has refused to launch a pre-trial investigation into an Israeli citizen studying in Kaunas over suspected war crimes in Gaza, though lawyers representing a human rights fund have appealed the decision, LRT reports.

The law firm ReLex, acting on behalf of the Hind Rajab Fund—a group combating human rights violations—filed a request for a probe into Sean Goras, an Israeli national currently enrolled at Kaunas’ Lithuanian University of Health Sciences. Prosecutors declined to open a case, but ReLex has challenged the ruling in court, seeking accountability for Goras’ alleged actions.

According to the fund, Goras served in the 52nd Armored Battalion’s “Vampire Empire” company and participated in Gaza operations between at least October 2023 and August 2024. The unit is accused of involvement in ground offensives in Gaza City and Rafah, including an attack that allegedly killed five-year-old Hind Rajab and six of her relatives.

The fund claims Goras posted photos in August 2024 posing in what appears to be an armored vehicle, stating he had spent the past ten months in Gaza. After the fund contacted Lithuanian prosecutors, Goras reportedly removed the online content, though the fund preserved copies. ReLex asserts it has identified four incidents—including the Rajab family’s killing, the destruction of Palestine Square, and attacks on Al-Shifa hospital and UNRWA facilities—potentially linked to war crimes or crimes against humanity.

The Prosecutor General’s Office neither confirmed nor denied the decision when contacted by LRT. Communications chief Elena Martinonienė stated that only the complainants could disclose details of their submissions or related rulings.

The Gaza conflict began after Hamas and allied groups launched an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, killing over 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Israel’s subsequent offensive in Gaza has killed more than 70,000 people, per local health authorities. A ceasefire brokered in October 2025 under a US-led plan temporarily halted hostilities, though over 1,500 additional deaths have since been reported in Gaza. In September 2025, a UN-independent commission accused Israel of acts amounting to genocide in Gaza, though Israel rejects the findings.