Israel admits that it fired on vehicle carrying five-year-old Hind Rajab
Israel’s military has for the first time admitted that it opened fire on a vehicle carrying five-year-old Hind Rajab and her family in Gaza City two-and-a-half years ago.
The military said it would open a criminal investigation into the killing of nine people on 29 January 2024, including Hind.
On that date, the Palestinian girl initially survived an Israeli attack on a vehicle which killed several members of her family.
Following the Israeli shelling, Hind answered a phone call from the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), during which she told medics to come and save her.
After coordination with the Israeli army, an ambulance was sent to rescue her. That ambulance was shelled by Israeli forces, killing paramedics Yousef Zeino and Ahmed al-Madhoun.
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
Twelve days after the attack, the bodies of Hind, six members of her family and the two paramedics were found.
PRCS accused Israeli forces of "deliberately targeting the ambulance upon its arrival at the scene" despite prior coordination to facilitate the rescue mission.
Her mother, Wissam Rajab, told Middle East Eye at the time that the family was separated when they tried to flee the area, which was under intense Israeli attacks.
Due to poor weather, Wissam had put her daughter in the vehicle along with her uncle, his wife and their children, while the rest of the family fled on foot.
After hearing gunfire in the area, the family called the Red Crescent to tell them the car was getting shot at.
Initially, Wissam thought everyone in the car was killed until she got a call from Layan Hamadeh, her 15-year-old cousin, saying: "Hind and I are wounded, and all my family is dead, I don't want to die. Please call an ambulance to save us. I'm scared. The tanks are 500 metres away from me."
The line went dead, and Wissam thought they had both been killed. But when she called again, Hind answered and said: "I'm alive, but Layan was martyred. Mum, I'm afraid, they are all dead. Come and get me."
The PRCS dispatched Zeino and Madhoun, the two paramedics, to rescue Hind. The medics said they were 15 minutes away and that they were looking for her, but then the line cut off and the crew lost contact.
PRCS released an audio recording of the last phone call with Hind, during which her final pleas can be heard amid the rattle of gunfire.
"I'm scared of the dark, come get me," she said.
According to Rajab, Hind said: "Don't leave me, I'm cold, hungry, and afraid."
Israel says 'no criminal misconduct' in three other cases
Hind’s death sparked widespread condemnation, and her name circulated in headlines around the world.
"Due to alleged failures in the coordination of the movement of the Palestine Red Crescent ambulance, it has been decided to initiate a criminal investigation of the incident by Military Police Criminal Investigation Division," the Israeli military said on Wednesday.
It said that the investigation would be led by Israel's Military Police Criminal Investigation Division - the main body that investigates allegations of wrongdoing by the military.
At the time of the killings, Israel’s military said it was not in the Tel al-Hawa area of Gaza City where the deaths took place.
However, multiple media reports identified Israeli tanks in the area.
At the time that the car and ambulance were found, the Israeli military had stated that it "conducted raids on terror targets" in areas including Tel al-Hawa. It later deleted that press release from its website.
A film about the killing, The Voice of Hind Rajab, was nominated for an Oscar this year.
The Israeli military also announced it was opening a criminal investigation into the death of 15 aid workers in Tel al-Sultan, in southern Gaza, in March 2025.
However, in three other cases, the military said there was "no reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct".
That included the Israeli killing of two Doctors Without Borders (MSF) employees in November 2023, the killing of two other MSF workers in February 2024, and the killing of seven World Central Kitchen employees in April 2024.
Since October 2023, when Israel's genocide in Gaza began, Israeli forces have killed more than 73,000 Palestinians and wounded over 174,000 others.
Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form. More about MEE can be found here.
