A Child Caught in a War Zone
On January 29, 2024, a five-year-old Palestinian girl named Hind Rajab and several of her family members attempted to flee their neighborhood in Gaza City by car, following Israeli military evacuation instructions. Her mother, Wissam Hamada, had already left the area on foot earlier that day. As the family traveled through the city's dangerous streets in a black Kia driven by Hind's uncle, Israeli forces fired more than 300 bullets into the vehicle, killing six of her relatives. Among those killed was her 15-year-old cousin Layan, who had been speaking with emergency dispatchers moments before she was fatally shot.
Hind survived the initial attack, wounded and surrounded by the bodies of her family members. She whispered desperate pleas for help over the phone to workers at the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS). In what would become her final communications, she told her mother by phone: "Don't leave me alone, Mama. I am tired. I am thirsty. And I am wounded." She died later that evening, still trapped in the car.
The Ambulance Strike
After PRCS workers received a desperate call from the child, they dispatched a clearly marked ambulance to rescue her. Critically, the rescue mission had received explicit coordination clearance from COGAT, an administrative branch of the Israeli military. Despite this, the ambulance was struck by a 120mm tank round, killing both paramedics on board.
An investigation conducted by Avaaz, a global advocacy organization, found that approximately three hours elapsed between the initial attack on the family and the strike on the ambulance, suggesting Israeli forces had substantial time to be aware of the situation. Avaaz concluded there was significant evidence of a deliberate "double-tap" tactic — a practice in which rescuers responding to an initial attack are themselves targeted in a follow-up strike. Sarah Andrew, Avaaz's legal director, stated she was "absolutely convinced" the ambulance strike was calculated and deliberate.
Identifying Those Responsible
Israel initially denied that its troops were present in the area and later suggested the bullet damage to the car was the result of crossfire with Palestinian armed groups. However, an investigative documentary produced in collaboration with the Hind Rajab Foundation challenged these claims with new forensic evidence.
Working alongside Forensic Architecture, a multidisciplinary research group, the investigation used satellite imagery and audio analysis to identify several Israeli Merkava tanks positioned directly adjacent to the vehicle. The inquiry found no evidence of any armed exchange taking place at the scene. Based on their findings, investigators named the "Vampire Empire" company, commanded by Major Sean Glass and operating under the 52nd Armoured Battalion led by Colonel Daniel Ella, as directly responsible for the killings. Lieutenant Colonel Beni Aharon of the 401 Armoured Brigade was identified as the overall commander of the tanks at the scene.
The documentary also highlighted the roles of dual Israeli-Argentine national Itay Choukirkov, who now faces legal proceedings in Argentina, and social media figure Shimon Zuckerman, whose online posts were cited as evidence of alleged genocidal intent.
A Delayed Acknowledgment
On May 3, 2025 — what would have been Hind's seventh birthday — the Hind Rajab Foundation filed a war crimes complaint with the International Criminal Court in The Hague, targeting Lieutenant Colonel Aharon and opening the door for further legal action in other national jurisdictions.
Following sustained international pressure and an internal review of approximately 150 incidents involving troop conduct, the Israeli military announced a criminal investigation into the killing. This marked the first official Israeli acknowledgment that its forces had fired on the family's car. The military claimed its troops had fired at an approaching vehicle and cited alleged failures in coordinating the ambulance's movement with PRCS.
Skepticism Over Justice
Human rights organizations and the Rajab family have largely dismissed the internal Israeli probe as insufficient. Hind's grandmother stated that she has no faith in the Israeli justice system or its judiciary, and is calling for an independent international investigation — one that addresses not only her granddaughter's killing but the broader deaths of Palestinian children throughout the conflict.
Hind's mother, Wissam Hamada, has traveled internationally to speak about the war's impact on children. She has said she is unable to watch the Oscar-nominated docudrama made about her daughter's life because hearing the child's voice is still too painful to bear.
Dyab Abou Jahjah, president of the Hind Rajab Foundation, expressed similar distrust of the Israeli legal process, arguing it was rooted not in ideology but in a documented pattern of impunity. His skepticism is supported by research from Israeli human rights organization Yesh Din, whose analyst Dan Owen noted that only a very small fraction of military investigations over the past decade have resulted in formal indictments. Owen added that rising political pressure within Israel further diminishes the likelihood of accountability, even in cases where evidence is clear.
