Killing of Hind Rajab
A child’s calls for rescue from a car under Israeli fire, followed by the killing of the paramedics sent to reach her.
- When
- 29 January 2024; bodies recovered 10 February
- Where
- Tel al-Hawa, Gaza City, Gaza Strip
Five-year-old Hind Rajab, six relatives and two Palestine Red Crescent paramedics were killed in Gaza City. Her recorded appeals for rescue made the case internationally known. Investigators challenged the Israeli military’s initial denial that its forces were nearby; in August 2026, the military acknowledged firing on the family’s car and announced a criminal investigation.
Background
A family trying to leave
The family was attempting to flee fighting in Tel al-Hawa during an Israeli ground operation. Hind travelled in a civilian car with relatives. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights describes the vehicle coming under fire near a petrol station as the family tried to get out of the area. The people seeking safety inside it included children.[3]
An emergency call becomes evidence
The surviving telephone recordings preserve events from inside the car rather than only later recollections. Hind’s cousin Layan contacted emergency dispatchers before her call ended amid gunfire. Hind subsequently remained alive and asked to be rescued. Those calls established both an immediate need for medical assistance and a record against which later official accounts could be tested.[2]
What happened
- 29 January 2024
Calls from the car
Layan’s emergency call ended with gunfire. Hind then spoke by telephone while trapped with her dead relatives. According to the account published by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, she was injured and frightened, and her mother tried to reassure her while a rescue was arranged.[3]
- 29 January 2024
An ambulance fails to return
Two Palestine Red Crescent paramedics were dispatched to rescue Hind. Independent UN experts later reported that their ambulance also came under Israeli fire. The deaths of the rescuers made this a case concerning protection of medical personnel as well as the family in the car.[1]
- 10 February 2024
Bodies recovered
Hind and her relatives were found dead twelve days after the emergency calls. The paramedics’ bodies were also recovered. The delay in reaching the scene prolonged the family’s uncertainty; it does not mean Hind was known to have remained alive throughout those twelve days.[3]
- 19 July 2024
UN experts call for investigation
Independent UN human-rights experts said the killings might amount to a war crime and criticised the absence of a proper investigation. They rejected as unacceptable the Israeli claim that troops had not been in the area. Their statement was an expert assessment and call for accountability.[1]
Impact & evidence
The family and rescuers
The toll comprises Hind, six other members of her family and two paramedics. The UN experts’ July 2024 statement identifies her as five years old; early coverage often described her as six. The case concerns the deaths of the whole group, while the child’s recorded appeals explain its particular public resonance.[1]
Reconstructing the shooting
Forensic Architecture and Earshot combined satellite imagery, damage to the car, witness testimony and the audio recording. Their analysis placed the likely source of the shots that killed Layan about 13–23 metres away. They found Israeli military vehicles in the area and damage consistent with Israeli munitions. Their conclusion that the shooter was likely aware of children in the back seat is an investigative finding, distinct from a criminal verdict.[2]
Aftermath & legacy
Investigation announced in August 2026
On 19 August 2026, the Israeli military acknowledged that its troops fired at an approaching vehicle and announced a military-police criminal investigation. It cited apparent failures in coordinating the ambulance’s movement. This reversed its earlier assertion that troops were not near the car or within firing range. The announcement was an investigative step, not a court judgment or a completed account of all nine deaths.[4]
A family’s demand for accountability
Hind’s mother, Wesam Hamada, called for an independent and transparent investigation with accountability for everyone responsible. The recorded calls also reached audiences through the film The Voice of Hind Rajab. Public recognition of the case and the opening of an investigation have not, by themselves, answered the family’s demand for justice.[4]
Sources & image credits (4)
- UN human-rights experts — 19 July 2024 statement ↗
- Forensic Architecture — investigation summary, June 2024 ↗
- Palestinian Centre for Human Rights — emergency calls and recovery ↗
- CNN — Israeli acknowledgment and criminal investigation, August 2026 ↗
Family photograph reproduced via English Wikipedia; photographer not identified. Non-free image; no open licence asserted. Image source ↗
