Israel’s military said on Wednesday that it would launch internal criminal investigations into the deaths of six-year-old Hind Rajab and 15 emergency and aid workers killed in Gaza.
The investigations follow reviews by the military’s Fact-Finding and Assessment Mechanism into five separate incidents involving the deaths of Palestinians.
One of the cases concerns the killing of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in April 2024. However, the military said its review found “no reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct that would justify the opening of a criminal investigation.”
The military said the investigations were part of its obligations under Israeli and international law to examine exceptional incidents occurring during combat.
Hind Rajab was killed in January 2024 after the car carrying her family came under fire in Gaza City. Six-year-old Hind was left injured and trapped among the bodies of her relatives. During a desperate call to the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), she said, “I am so scared,” and pleaded, “Call someone to come get me, please.”
Hind remained trapped for more than two weeks before her body was recovered alongside those of her relatives and two PRCS workers who had been sent to rescue her.
An investigation by London-based research group Forensic Architecture examined satellite imagery and visual evidence and concluded that several Israeli tanks were positioned near the vehicle. It said one tank fired 335 rounds at the car and suggested that an Israeli tank likely also attacked the ambulance sent to rescue Hind.
Her case later inspired Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania’s docudrama The Voice of Hind Rajab, which features audio from her emergency call. The film was nominated for Best International Feature Film at this year’s Academy Awards.
In March, US lawmakers also introduced legislation calling for a US investigation into Hind’s death.
