The grandmother of five-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab has rejected an Israeli military investigation into her killing, saying the family does not trust the Israeli judiciary and calling instead for an independent international probe.
Her comments came after the Israeli military acknowledged on Wednesday that its forces fired on the car carrying Hind and her relatives in Gaza City in January 2024 and announced a criminal investigation into her death.
“We are not demanding justice only in Hind’s name as a child from Gaza, but in the name of all our child martyrs in Gaza,” Hind’s grandmother told Anadolu.
She called for accountability over the deaths of Hind, six of her relatives and two Palestine Red Crescent medics who were dispatched to rescue her.
The Hind Rajab Foundation also questioned the credibility of the Israeli investigation, saying an internal probe should not be regarded as a genuine step towards justice.
Hind was travelling with relatives as they attempted to flee fighting in Gaza City on 29 January 2024 when their vehicle came under fire.
Her 15-year-old cousin Layan called the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) for help from inside the car. Contact with Layan was later lost, but emergency workers managed to reach Hind, who remained trapped in the vehicle surrounded by the bodies of her relatives.
Hind stayed on the phone with emergency workers for hours while an ambulance was dispatched to rescue her. Contact with both the girl and the medics was eventually lost.
12 days later, Hind was found dead inside the bullet-riddled vehicle alongside six relatives. The bodies of the two paramedics sent to rescue her were also discovered nearby.
Audio recordings of Hind pleading for help sparked international outrage and turned her case into one of the most widely recognised stories of Palestinian children killed during the Gaza war.
The Israeli military initially said its forces were not present near the vehicle at the time. Subsequent independent investigations using satellite imagery, audio and visual evidence challenged that account and indicated Israeli military vehicles were operating in the area.
Wednesday’s announcement marks the first time the Israeli military has acknowledged that its forces fired on the vehicle. It has not yet determined whether criminal responsibility lies with individual soldiers or commanders.
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