Israel names prosecutor for Nukhba trials; death penalty possible

More than 400 Nukhba terrorists who took part in the October 7 massacre are set to stand trial in what will be one of the most significant legal proceedings in Israel's history. Attorney Zana Modzgvrishvili, who served 22 years in the IDF and held the position of chief military prosecutor, has been chosen to head the complex legal apparatus that will be established to bring them to justice.

Modzgvrishvili, who was discharged at the rank of brigadier general after four years as chief military prosecutor, has already returned to reserve duty and served as prosecutor in the case of Aviad Frija, accused in the death of Yuval Castleman hy"d, who was shot in November 2023 after helping stop the terror attack at the Giv'at Shaul junction. She will now be employed as a civilian IDF employee and will head the team responsible for managing the prosecutions against the Nukhba terrorists.

After her discharge from the IDF in 2013, Modzgvrishvili was appointed to the position of inspector of interrogee complaints at the Shin Bet in the Justice Ministry, a role in which complaints about the conduct of the service's interrogators are examined.

New law enables death penalty

The legal framework for the proceedings was laid in a law passed by the Knesset in May in second and third readings, with 93 in favor and no opposition. The law was initiated by Constitution Committee chairman MK Simcha Rothman and MK Yulia Malinovsky, and was formulated in cooperation between Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.

The law defines the acts carried out by the terrorists between October 7 and 10, 2023, as crimes against the Jewish people, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. It includes offenses of murder, rape, kidnapping and looting, and also allows prosecution for offenses committed subsequently against hostages held in the Gaza Strip, including those murdered in captivity.

One of the significant sections in the law allows the court to impose the death penalty for serious offenses, in accordance with the provisions of the relevant law. The law also stipulates that terrorists sentenced to death, or charged with an offense punishable by death, will not be able to be released as part of future prisoner exchange deals.

A special military court will be established in Jerusalem to conduct the proceedings. The trials are expected to be divided according to geographic zones, including Be'eri, Nir Oz, and the Nova music festival. Each panel will consist of three judges, at least one of whom will be a president of a military court or a district judge at the rank of president or deputy president who will be recruited for reserve service.

Those convicted will have an automatic appeal mechanism, with a retired Supreme Court justice heading the appeals panel.

The indictments are expected to be based on investigative materials collected by the IDF and Shin Bet, including forensic findings from the massacre sites, transcripts of interrogations of Nukhba terrorists, and hundreds of videos documenting the atrocities. Some of the evidence was collected during the fighting inside the Gaza Strip.

The prosecution, led by the Southern District Attorney's Office, is expected to file the indictments based on the evidentiary foundation that has been gathered. The number of defendants is expected to exceed 400, but the final scope of the cases still depends on the continued work of the IDF and Shin Bet in the Strip.

Due to the scope of the proceedings, in most hearings the defendants will not be physically present in the courtroom, but will watch them through technological means from detention facilities. Families of the murdered and victims will be given the opportunity to follow the trials from a separate hall or through digital broadcast.

In a hearing held in the Constitution Committee on October 7, 2026, on the third anniversary of the massacre, the possibility was raised that the first indictment would be filed in the first half of 2027.

Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister Yariv Levin said he "spoke a short time ago with attorney Zana Modzgvrishvili, who was chosen to head the apparatus for bringing the Nukhba terrorists to justice. The minister thanked attorney Modzgvrishvili for her willingness to take upon herself this important mission and wished her great success."