Gaza War
Raab is a staff sergeant and sniper in the IDF, and has participated in the Gaza war. [9]
On October 9, 2023, Raab's mother posted on Facebook that a nonprofit registered as “Friends of Paratrooper Sniper Unit 202,” needed “helmets, rain gear, barrels, vests, sniper stands, silencers, camouflage, and the list goes on.” [2] [10] The nonprofit's 2023 Form 990 tax exemption form lists Raab's father Benjamin as the principal officer, with $304,983 in gross receipts for the year. [2]
In October 2024, independent Palestinian journalist Younis Tirawi posted a 38-minute documentary on the IDF's Ghost Units investigating the killing of unarmed civilians in Gaza. [11] [9] Raab gave an interview for the documentary, noting how his unit shot unarmed civilians. [12] Raab stated:
If they are in an area designated as a combat zone, and they are men of military age, then we shoot. The question of women and children is debated with command... As a sniper, you have a lot of independence, a lot of responsibility, and a lot of room for judgement... In some cases, they say yes or no, and in others, they say yes when you think it should be no... and then it’s up to you. You shoot." [9]
In the video, Raab noted his unit was active near the Al-Quds Hospital in Gaza in November 2023, with members of his unit claiming to set a record of killing a civilian from the distance of 1,260 meters. [12] Raab added his unit had killed at least 120 Palestinians within five months. [13]
On July 1, 2025, a complaint against Sasha A. and Gabriel B. H, two French-Israeli soldiers, was filed in French court seeking an opening of a judicial investigation for "war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide". [12] [13] The complaint was made based on Tirawi's interview with Raab, a member of the soldiers' unit. [12]
2025 investigation
In September 2025, The Guardian published an investigation conducted jointly with Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ), Paper Trail Media, Der Spiegel and ZDF, showing Raab shot and killed 19-year-old Salem Doghmosh of the Doghmush clan on November 22, 2023. [1] [14] [15] Salem was unarmed and Raab noted he shot him because he was trying to retrieve the body of his older brother Mohammed. [1] In an interview, Raab stated "It's hard for me to understand why he [did that] and it also doesn't really interest me. I mean, what was so important about that corpse?” [1] Raab said that it was "wrong" for Palestinians to think that they would not be shot because they were "wearing civilian clothes" and were "not carrying a weapon", with Raab further specifying: "That's what you have snipers for." [1] Raab elaborated that his sniper team would shoot unarmed Palestinians based on "distance. There is a line that we define. They don't know where this line is, but we do." [1]
Raab's partner was subsequently identified as Daniel Graetz, an IDF sniper from Munich, Germany. [1] [16] [17] Der Spiegel described the unit's actions as "war crimes". [18] [19]
On September 10, 2025, Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks described Raab's actions as those of a "serial killer". [20]
On September 11, 2025, the CAIR-Chicago issued a press release urging the United States Department of Justice to open an investigation against Raab under the War Crimes Act. [21] CAIR-Chicago Executive Director Ahmed Rehab stated "Given that the alleged perpetrator attended the University of Illinois and has American citizenship, CAIR‑Chicago insists the Department of Justice cannot ignore these atrocities merely because they occurred abroad. The War Crimes Act clearly grants U.S. courts jurisdiction over U.S. nationals who commit grave breaches of the laws of war." [21] [3]
