First Responder to Hind Rajab Calls for Comprehensive Probe into Israeli Violations

Palestinian responder Rana Faqih, who spent hours on the phone with Hind Rajab before the five-year-old was killed by Israeli troops in Gaza, has stated that opening an Israeli investigation into the incident is far from sufficient. Israel recently admitted its troops fired on the car carrying the child, 934 days after the global community began blaming the Israeli military for the 355 bullets that struck the vehicle, which also resulted in the deaths of six members of her family in Gaza.

“From the outset, the Palestine Red Crescent Society has demanded, and continues to demand, an independent investigation by a neutral and transparent committee,” Ms Faqih said a day after Israel announced its investigation into Hind's death. The fate of Hind remained unknown for 12 days until Israeli troops withdrew from the area, revealing the bullet-riddled car containing the bodies of Hind, her aunt, uncle, and four cousins in the Tel Al Hawa district of Gaza city.

Hours after Hind's cousin Layan called the Red Crescent, Israel eventually approved a rescue operation carried out by Ahmad Al Madhoun and Youssef Al Zeino. However, the ambulance they travelled in lost contact with the PCRS headquarters in Ramallah, and their bodies were subsequently found nearby. “Hind was a child crying for help, and the paramedics Ahmad and Youssef who responded to her had one humanitarian mission: to save a life,” Ms Faqih said. “It is deeply painful for a person to lose their life while waiting for someone to save them, and for a paramedic to lose their life while trying to reach them.”

Gaza has remained the world's deadliest place for aid workers for a third consecutive year, with more than 1,700 healthcare workers killed and at least 95 still in Israeli detention since October 2023. “This investigation should not be limited to this single incident but should encompass all violations, targeting and arrests of the Society's staff and volunteers while they were performing their humanitarian duties,” Ms Faqih added.

The killing of Hind Rajab is one of 150 cases during the Gaza war reviewed by military prosecutors, according to Israeli announcements. The military continues to deny wider allegations of genocide or war crimes in Gaza, where more than 73,400 Palestinians have been killed during the ongoing conflict. On Wednesday, Israeli prosecutors announced that the Hind Rajab incident alongside the killing of 15 Palestinians in an ambush in March 2025 will be subject to further criminal investigation, while three other cases have been closed.

The closed cases include an Israeli strike that killed aid workers for the World Central Kitchen charity in April 2024, as well as two incidents involving staff from Doctors Without Borders killed in Gaza. The World Central Kitchen strongly condemned the decision, stating, “We fundamentally disagree with their decision about criminal investigations into the … air strikes that killed our team.” WCK maintained that the workers were unarmed, their whereabouts were known to the Israeli authorities, and they were travelling in clearly marked humanitarian vehicles while sharing their movements, identities, and activities in advance.