Israel Admits Soldiers Fired on Hind Rajab’s Car, Opens Criminal Investigation

The Israeli military has acknowledged that its soldiers fired on the vehicle carrying five-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab and members of her family in Gaza in January 2024, and has ordered a criminal investigation into the circumstances surrounding their deaths.

The admission marks a significant reversal from Israel’s earlier position that its forces were not in the vicinity of the vehicle when the incident occurred. The case had drawn international attention after recordings emerged of Hind pleading with Palestinian emergency workers for help while trapped inside the car.

According to the Israeli military’s latest review, its forces opened fire on the vehicle and also fired on a Palestine Red Crescent ambulance that was dispatched to rescue Hind. The two paramedics aboard the ambulance were also killed.

Hind was travelling with relatives when their vehicle came under fire in Gaza City in January 2024.

After other members of the family were killed, Hind remained trapped inside the damaged car and spoke by telephone with emergency workers for hours, pleading for assistance.

Her case became one of the most widely known individual civilian deaths of the Gaza war after recordings of the call were released.

Twelve days after the incident, Hind’s body and those of her relatives were recovered from the vehicle. The bodies of two Red Crescent paramedics sent to rescue her were also found nearby.

The Israeli military said the decision followed a broader review of approximately 150 incidents involving alleged misconduct by troops during the Gaza war.

The review recommended criminal investigations in two cases, including the deaths of Hind and her family and a separate incident involving Palestinian medical workers near Rafah in 2025.

The development comes after independent investigations had previously challenged Israel’s account of the Hind Rajab incident.

A United Nations commission later concluded that Israeli forces were operating in the area and found that the earlier claim that Israeli troops were not near the vehicle was false. The commission said there were reasonable grounds to conclude that Israeli forces deliberately targeted the family and obstructed the medical rescue.

The decision to launch a criminal investigation has been described as an unusual step given the relatively limited number of criminal proceedings arising from allegations of misconduct by Israeli forces during the Gaza war.

Human rights organisations and advocates for Hind’s family have continued to call for independent investigations, arguing that military-led inquiries may not provide sufficient accountability.

The Israeli military has also decided not to pursue criminal investigations into several other controversial incidents involving the deaths of aid workers, including the 2024 strike that killed seven World Central Kitchen workers, according to reports.

The latest investigation will now determine whether individual soldiers or commanders should face criminal charges over the deaths of Hind, her relatives and the rescuers who attempted to reach her.

The case has become a symbol of the wider debate over civilian protection and accountability during the Gaza conflict.