More than a year after a five-year-old girl named Hind Rajab called for help from inside a car surrounded by Israeli tanks in Gaza — and was never rescued — Israel's military has confirmed it fired on that vehicle, opening criminal investigations into her death, the deaths of six relatives, and the two paramedics killed when the ambulance sent to save her was shelled. The admission arrives under mounting international legal pressure, and it forces a reckoning that many families of the dead have long demanded. Yet the history of such internal inquiries — and the rarity of meaningful accountabil
Israel opens criminal probe into killing of 5-year-old Hind Rajab after confirming soldiers fired on car
Five-year-old Hind Rajab and six family members killed in initial strike; two paramedics killed when rescue ambulance was shelled; 15 Palestinians including medics and UN worker killed in separate March 2025 incident.
She was scared. She asked me how far away my house was.
Mark
Why did it take nearly two years for the IDF to confirm what happened to Hind Rajab?
Mimi
The military initially denied its troops were even in the area. That story held until the evidence became impossible to ignore—the recording, the international attention, the pressure from courts and governments.
Mark
What made this case different from other incidents in Gaza?
Mimi
Hind's voice. For hours, she was alive and calling for help. The world heard a child describe her own abandonment in real time. That's harder to abstract away or bury in military jargon.
Mark
The ambulance was coordinated with the Israeli army beforehand. How does that happen?
Mimi
The Red Crescent had obtained permission. They followed protocol. They were still struck. That's what made it so damning—it wasn't a mistake born of chaos. It suggested something more deliberate.
Mark
Do these criminal investigations actually lead anywhere?
Mimi
Rarely. Israeli rights groups say almost no indictments come from complaints against soldiers. When convictions happen, the sentences don't match the crimes. The investigations exist partly to satisfy international pressure, not necessarily to produce justice.
Mark
What does the foundation mean by saying these investigations aren't credible?
Mimi
They're internal. The IDF investigates itself. There's no independent oversight, no external accountability. It's like asking someone to fairly judge their own conduct.
Mark
Is there any chance this changes?
Mimi
The International Criminal Court is watching. So are governments. The pressure is real. But the pattern is old, and it's held.
O Pulso
- For nearly two years, Israel denied its troops were present when Hind Rajab died; the IDF's own investigation has now confirmed they fired on her car, shattering an official account that had stood unchallenged.
- The recording of a child's voice pleading for rescue — hours on the phone, tanks closing in, no one coming — became a global symbol of the war's human cost and an Oscar-nominated documentary.
- Two paramedics dispatched with Israeli coordination to reach Hind were killed when their ambulance was shelled; the IDF attributes this to coordination failures, a framing human rights groups call insufficient.
- A separate March 2025 incident — in which 15 Palestinians including medics and a UN worker were killed in Rafah — is also under criminal review after video evidence contradicted the military's initial account.
- In three other high-profile cases, including the killing of seven World Central Kitchen workers, Israel found no grounds for prosecution, drawing sharp international condemnation.
- Rights organizations warn that Israeli military investigations almost never produce indictments, and when convictions occur, sentences rarely match the gravity of the offenses — leaving accountability an open and contested question.
More than a year after a five-year-old girl named Hind Rajab called for help from inside a car surrounded by Israeli tanks in Gaza — and was never rescued — Israel's military has confirmed it fired on that vehicle, opening criminal investigations into her death, the deaths of six relatives, and the two paramedics killed when the ambulance sent to save her was shelled. The admission arrives under mounting international legal pressure, and it forces a reckoning that many families of the dead have long demanded. Yet the history of such internal inquiries — and the rarity of meaningful accountability within them — reminds us that acknowledgment and justice are not the same thing.
In January 2024, five-year-old Hind Rajab was in a car in Gaza when Israeli forces opened fire. She survived the initial strike. Alone among the dead and wounded, she picked up a phone and called the Palestinian Red Crescent. For hours, operator Rana Faqih listened as Hind described tanks moving toward her, asked when someone would come, and wondered aloud how far away her house was. Faqih could only tell her to hide and stay quiet.
Three hours into the call, two paramedics were finally dispatched to reach her. As they neared the location, they radioed that they were approaching an Israeli checkpoint. That was their last transmission. The ambulance was struck. Both paramedics were killed. Hind's line went dead. Days later, her body was recovered alongside six relatives. The recording of her voice traveled around the world, eventually cited by the United Nations in a war crimes investigation and adapted into an Oscar-nominated documentary.
On Wednesday, the IDF confirmed what it had disputed for nearly two years: its troops had fired on the vehicle. The military announced criminal investigations into Hind's death, her relatives' deaths, and the killing of the two paramedics, attributing the ambulance strike to failures in movement coordination. The same statement addressed a March 2025 incident in Rafah, where 15 Palestinians — including medics and a UN worker — were killed after the military initially claimed their convoy was moving suspiciously without lights. Video recovered from a dead paramedic's phone showed emergency lights had been in use; the IDF acknowledged its account was mistaken.
In three other cases, including the deaths of seven World Central Kitchen workers and four Médecins Sans Frontières employees, the military found no grounds for criminal investigation — drawing outrage from Australia and condemnation from the aid organizations involved.
Human rights groups received the announcements with deep skepticism. The Hind Rajab Foundation called internal Israeli investigations incapable of serving as credible accountability mechanisms. Israeli rights organization Yesh Din noted that criminal complaints against soldiers almost never result in indictments, and that convictions, when they occur, carry sentences disproportionately light relative to the offenses. With more than 73,000 people killed in Gaza since October 2023, and the International Criminal Court watching closely, whether these investigations will produce anything resembling justice remains profoundly uncertain.
In January 2024, a five-year-old girl named Hind Rajab was in a car in Gaza when Israeli forces opened fire. She survived the initial attack. Alone in the vehicle, she picked up a phone and called for help, her small voice reaching operators at the Palestinian Red Crescent Society. For hours, she stayed on the line.
Operator Rana Faqih listened as Hind described what she could see: tanks moving toward the car. Faqih told her to hide under the seats, to stay quiet, to not let anyone find her. Over and over, Hind asked when someone would come rescue her. At one point, as darkness fell, she asked Faqih how far away her house was. She was frightened. Faqih would later say she felt paralyzed and helpless, unable to do anything but listen.
Three hours into the call, the Red Crescent was finally given permission to send an ambulance. Two paramedics—Yusuf al-Zeino and Ahmed al-Madhoun—were dispatched into the night to reach her. As they neared the location, they radioed that they were approaching an Israeli checkpoint. That was the last transmission anyone received. The ambulance was struck. Both paramedics were killed. Hind's line went dead.
Days later, Hind's body was recovered along with six relatives who had been in the car with her. The recording of her voice—a child pleading for rescue that never came—circulated around the world. It became impossible to ignore. The case drew international condemnation and was eventually made into an Oscar-nominated documentary. The United Nations cited it in an investigation accusing Israel of war crimes, allegations Israel denies.
On Wednesday, the Israeli Defense Forces issued a statement confirming what had been disputed for nearly two years: its troops had indeed fired on the vehicle carrying Hind. The military said it would open a criminal investigation into her death, the deaths of her six relatives, and the deaths of the two paramedics. The statement acknowledged that the ambulance had been shelled, attributing the incident to "alleged failures in the co-ordination" of the vehicle's movement. The IDF's own examination found that troops had fired on a car "travelling contrary to the advanced notice" the military had published.
The same announcement covered a separate incident from March 2025, in which Israeli forces fired on ambulances, a fire engine, and a marked United Nations vehicle in Rafah, killing fifteen Palestinians including medics and a UN worker. The military initially claimed the vehicles were moving suspiciously in darkness without lights. Video evidence from a dead paramedic's phone later showed the convoy had been using emergency lights. The IDF acknowledged this account was "mistaken" and said it had found "reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct."
In three other cases—including the 2023 killing of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers and four Médecins Sans Frontières employees—the military said it found no grounds for criminal investigation. Australia's foreign minister said she was "outraged" by the decision not to prosecute those responsible for the death of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom. World Central Kitchen condemned the military's account as inconsistent with the truth and demanded an independent investigation.
The Hind Rajab Foundation, based in Brussels and focused on documenting alleged Israeli violations in Gaza, responded to the announcement with skepticism. Internal Israeli investigations, the foundation said, "cannot be regarded as credible mechanisms of accountability." Israeli human rights groups echoed this concern. Ziv Stahl, executive director of Yesh Din, told the BBC that criminal investigations of Israeli forces almost never result in indictments relative to the number of complaints filed, and when convictions do occur, sentences are typically lenient compared to the severity of the offenses.
Since October 2023, more than 73,000 people have been killed in Gaza according to the territory's health ministry—figures the UN considers reliable. The IDF faces mounting pressure from international legal bodies, particularly the International Criminal Court, to demonstrate that it investigates itself credibly. This is the first comprehensive report on alleged war crimes the military has released since the war began. Whether these investigations will produce accountability remains an open question.
Citações Notáveis
At one point, she told me it was getting dark. She was scared. She asked me how far away my house was. I felt paralysed and helpless.— Rana Faqih, Red Crescent operator who stayed on the line with Hind Rajab
Almost no indictments are filed in relation to the number of complaints against soldiers and commanders for offences committed. In the even more rare cases where soldiers or commanders are convicted, they receive disproportionately lenient sentences.— Ziv Stahl, executive director of Israeli human rights group Yesh Din
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