A complaint has been filed with the police, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Bureau of Immigration of India by a pro-Palestine NGO, Hind Rajab Foundation, against an Israeli tourist who is currently vacationing in Himachal Pradesh. Eitan Gilboa is a reservist with the Israeli army and is currently located in Old Manali and Gondla Village, Himachal Pradesh, according to Hind Rajab Foundation.
According to the foundation, Gilboa is accused of personally carrying out and celebrating the “systemic demolition of residential blocks in Gaza as acts of revenge”. This constitutes war crimes under the Geneva Conventions Act, 1960.
The HRF says Gilboa was born in Gaza during the Israeli occupation, but his family left the territory after Israel's withdrawal. He returned to Gaza in October 2023 along with his siblings with the Israeli army. Upon returning, Gilboa staged photographs recreating scenes of his youth, juxtaposing himself against the ruins of Palestinian playgrounds and children's toys amidst the rubble,” the foundation said on its website.
Gilboa documented the destruction of civilian buildings that he carried out, filming himself ordering, executing, and celebrating the demolition of civilian homes in Khan Younis and Rafah. These videos were later published by his mother on Instagram and Facebook. The accompanying posts suggest that these demolitions were carried out as acts of retribution and dedicated to fallen IDF soldiers, the foundation said.
He was also accused of cheering along with his unit as the troops detonated a residential area, cheering as the buildings collapsed.
“Eitan Gilboa is not a tourist. He is a war criminal currently enjoying the hospitality of India while fleeing the consequences of his crimes. He has publicly documented himself turning entire neighbourhoods in Gaza into ash and dust, dedicating these massacres to fallen soldiers as acts of revenge. The videos show him triggering explosives that wiped out entire residential buildings in Gaza. India must act immediately to arrest him. It must not allow Indian soil to become a safe haven for those who celebrate the destruction of civilian lives,” Dyab Abou Jahjah, General Director of the Hind Rajab Foundation, said in a statement.
