'The Voice of Hind Rajab' Star Questions Israel's Military Investigation into Five-Year-Old's Killing

Palestinian actor Motaz Malhees has strongly criticized Israel’s decision to investigate the killing of Hind Rajab through its own military justice system. This came after the army acknowledged for the first time that its troops fired on the car carrying the five-year-old child and her family.

Malhees, who portrayed Palestine Red Crescent Society worker Omar Alqam in the Oscar-nominated film The Voice of Hind Rajab, questioned whether the internal investigation would actually hold anyone accountable. Speaking to The National, he stated that the Israeli army lied, denied, and deflected for more than two and a half years since Hind Rajab was killed, and the irony of a criminal investigating its own crimes is not lost on him.

He emphasized that Hind is only one of thousands of children killed by the army and asked whether they intend to admit to every single one. He further questioned if the responsible soldiers will truly be brought to justice or if this will merely serve as a protective measure for them.

The Israeli military announced that its Military Police Criminal Investigation Division would examine the deaths of Hind, six members of her family, and two paramedics sent to rescue her on January 29, 2024. Its fact-finding mechanism concluded that Israeli troops fired on the family's car as it approached them while traveling contrary to an advance notice. Five passengers were killed in the initial attack, while Hind and her 15-year-old cousin Layan Hamada survived. Layan was subsequently killed as Hind spoke to the Palestine Red Crescent Society, with dozens of shots audible during the call. Hind remained on the phone for hours, pleading for rescue.

The military acknowledged that the movement of an ambulance sent to reach Hind had been co-ordinated, but stated that a shell was fired towards the vehicle when it arrived, killing paramedics Youssef Al Zeino and Ahmed Al Madhoun. The criminal investigation was ordered due to alleged failures in that co-ordination, though the statement did not explain how Hind or Layan died. Their bodies were discovered 12 days later after Israeli forces withdrew from the area.

This admission reverses the military’s preliminary finding in 2024 that its forces were not present near the vehicle or within firing range. Subsequent investigations by The Washington Post, Forensic Architecture, and audio group Earshot contradicted the military's initial claims, mapping 335 bullet holes and concluding the shooter would have been close enough to see civilians inside.

The Hind Rajab case was one of two incidents referred for criminal investigation out of 150 reviewed cases from the Gaza war, alongside the killing of 15 Palestinian medics and rescue workers in Rafah in March 2025. Israel denies deliberately targeting civilians and rejects wider allegations of genocide and war crimes in Gaza.

Rana Faqih, the Red Crescent responder who tried to reassure Hind during her final hours, told The National that an Israeli investigation is not enough, reiterating demands for an independent investigation by a neutral and transparent committee. Hind’s grandmother, Hind Rajab, and Dyab Abou Jahjah, director general of the Hind Rajab Foundation, also called for an international inquiry, citing a lack of trust in the Israeli justice system's track record.

Written and directed by Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania, The Voice of Hind Rajab uses real recordings of the child's calls alongside dramatized scenes inside the Red Crescent operations centre. The film received a record 24-minute standing ovation at its 2025 Venice Film Festival premiere, won the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize, and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best International Feature Film.