A joint investigation has conclusively established Israel's responsibility in the tragic killing of Hind Rajab, a six-year-old Palestinian girl, during the recent Gaza war. The investigation, conducted by multiple organizations sheds light on the harrowing circumstances surrounding Hind's death, including the firing of an Israeli tank at her family's car and the subsequent attack on the ambulance sent to rescue her.
Who Is Hind Rajab?
Hind Rajab, a six-year-old Palestinian girl from the Gaza Strip, was tragically killed by the Israeli military alongside six family members and two paramedics who were attempting to rescue her. The incident occurred during ongoing Israeli military assaults in the region. This incident led to international condemnation.
After being missing for 12 days, the bodies of Hind and the others were found. An Israeli tank had targeted their family car in Gaza. The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) and Hind's family confirmed that all seven individuals in the car, including PRCS medics Yusuf Zeino and Ahmed al-Madhoun, were killed in the attack.
Hind's body, along with those of her uncle, aunt, and their three children, was discovered near a roundabout in Tal al-Hawa, a suburb of Gaza City. The PRCS stated that the ambulance sent to rescue Hind was deliberately targeted by Israeli forces, despite prior coordination for safe passage.
An audio file released by PRCS captured Hind's desperate pleas for help while she was trapped in the car, surrounded by the bodies of her family members. “I’m so scared, please come. Please call someone to come and take me,” Hind was heard crying desperately during the call.
The call lasted three hours as rescue workers attempted to comfort her. Hind’s mother recounted her brief conversation with Hind and her 15-year-old cousin, Layan Hamadeh, who was also in the car. The conversation ended abruptly with the sounds of gunfire and screams.
Israel Denies Accountability for Killing Hind Rajab
The PRCS stated that they coordinated with the Israeli Occupying Forces (IOF) when dispatching the ambulance to rescue Hind. However, the IOF denied this coordination, claiming that they were not operating in that area at the time.
Israel initially denied its forces' involvement in Hind's death, stating on February 25: "It appears that IDF troops were not present near the vehicle or within firing range of the described vehicle in which the girl was found."
Joint Investigation Confirms Israel's Responsibility in Killing Hind
An investigation revealed that an Israeli tank fired from a close distance at the family car of six-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab, with a tank shell directly hitting the ambulance dispatched to help her.
Al Jazeera TV’s Fault Lines documentary on civilian killings in the war on Gaza provided a detailed reconstruction of the incident. The documentary was compiled in collaboration with nonprofit investigative groups, Forensic Architecture and Earshot.
The investigation revealed that the Israeli tank was likely just 13 to 23 meters (42 to 75 feet) away when it opened fire on Rajab and her relatives in their car.
Through interviews with family members, Palestinian Civil Defense workers, and medical responders, the documentary offers the most comprehensive video account of the incident to date. It also reconstructs for the first time the likely position of the Israeli tank when it fired on the car, as well as the likely trajectory of the tank shell that struck the ambulance with a direct hit when it came to rescue Rajab.
“I will never meet heroes like them again, the kind that know they will die and they still go,” said Omar al-Qam, a dispatcher with the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), who was on the phone with Rajab and her cousin, who was killed in Israeli fire while pleading for help.
The new evidence further disproves previous claims by the Israeli military that its forces were not present in the area. The ambulance dispatched to help Rajab was attacked after receiving approval from Israeli authorities, complete with a map and an approved route.
According to the investigation, a total of 64 gunshots were fired in just six seconds during the call between Hind's 15-year-old cousin, Layan Hamadeh, and the dispatcher, Omar. This rate of fire equates to around 750–900 rounds per minute, consistent with Israeli army weaponry such as the M4 rifle or the FN MAG machine gun mounted on a Merkava tank.
Mother's Heartbreaking Testimony of Hind’s Death
Rajab’s mother, Wissam Hamada, recounted how her daughter's voice grew fainter towards the end of their phone call. Rajab told her mother that she could not speak because her mouth was bleeding, but she did not want to wipe it to avoid troubling her mother with cleaning it.
"I told her, ‘It’s OK, wipe your mouth and I’ll wash it, my sweetheart." She agreed. She wiped with her sleeve and the voice disappeared. It was exactly 7 pm. The voice disappeared completely,” Hamada told Fault Lines.
“It’s the most difficult feeling in the world to hear my daughter ask me to go get her when I can’t reach her. My sweetheart, I swear, I couldn’t reach you. Forgive me, sweetheart.”
Killing Hind Sparks International Condemnation
Rajab’s death sparked global condemnation, including in the United States, which has been supporting Israel’s war on Gaza.
Pro-Palestine protesters unfurled a banner with the name of Hind's Hall. The banner, displayed at Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall, pays tribute to Hind Rajab.
The British aid group Save the Children reported that nearly 21,000 children are missing in Gaza. In a report published on Monday, the organization stated that these missing Palestinian children are believed to be trapped beneath rubble, buried in unmarked graves, harmed beyond recognition by explosives, detained by Israeli forces, or lost in the chaos of conflict.
Since October 7, Israel has killed more than 14,000 children in Gaza. According to a report by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) earlier this year.
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