Israel admits firing on car carrying Hind Rajab, symbol of Gaza’s suffering

More than two years after Hind Rajab was killed, becoming a symbol of the suffering of children in Gaza, Israel’s military, long accused of the atrocity, has announced a criminal investigation into the death of the five-year-old girl.

At first, Israel denied that its soldiers were even in the area where she was killed. After journalistic investigations, including by Al Jazeera, the army said it had raided “terror targets” in Gaza City that day. In January this year, Israeli officials said they were reviewing the case.

The military said in a statement on Wednesday that the criminal investigation into Rajab’s killing was decided on following a review of the findings “and due to alleged failures in the coordination of the movement of the Palestine Red Crescent ambulance”.

On January 29, 2024, at about 7:30pm, Rajab died of her injuries while she was trapped in a car surrounded by the bodies of her relatives, after her family was forcibly displaced hours earlier from Gaza City. They had attempted to follow Israeli orders to leave, but on their way, Israel’s army fired more than 300 bullets at the black Kia driven by Rajab’s uncle. Her 15-year-old cousin Layan was also in the car and spoke to Palestine Red Crescent workers by phone before she was killed.

Palestinian Red Crescent workers attempted to save Rajab, but were blocked from reaching her by Israeli forces. Palestinian paramedics dispatched an ambulance to rescue the child, the sole survivor, and stayed on the line until contact was lost.

The military said on Wednesday that troops had “fired at a vehicle that was approaching them”. It is the first time Israel has admitted shooting at the car.

But criminal misconduct investigations into Israeli ⁠troops over the killing of Palestinians rarely lead to convictions.

Rajab’s grandmother, also named Hind Rajab, told The Associated Press news agency by phone that the Israeli investigation is not enough, and called for an international probe into the killing of her granddaughter and all of the thousands of children killed in Gaza during the war.