Who was Hind Rajab and why is Israel investigating her killing?

More than two years after the killing of a five-year-old Palestinian child shook the world, the Israeli military has officially admitted to firing on the civilian vehicle she was trapped in and has announced a criminal investigation into the incident, following years of denial and intense international scrutiny.

On January 29, 2024, Hind Rajab and her family attempted to follow Israeli evacuation orders, fleeing their neighbourhood in Gaza City in a black Kia car driven by her uncle.

Her mother, Wissam Hamada, had been separated from her daughter after leaving the area on foot earlier that fateful day.

As they navigated the perilous streets, Israeli forces unleashed a barrage of more than 300 bullets into the vehicle, instantly killing six of her relatives, including her 15-year-old cousin Layan, who had managed to speak to emergency dispatchers before being fatally shot.

Wounded and surrounded by the bodies of her family, the five-year-old Rajab survived for hours, whispering a desperate final plea over the phone to Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) workers: “I’m so scared… Please come.”

In her harrowing final moments, she also begged her mother over the phone, pleading, “Don’t leave me alone, Mama. I am tired. I am thirsty. And I am wounded.”

Palestinian paramedics dispatched a clearly marked ambulance to rescue the sole surviving child, after receiving explicit clearance from COGAT, a branch of the Israeli military.

Despite this coordination, the rescue vehicle was struck by a 120mm tank round, killing the two medics in it instantly.