Israeli Military Admits to Firing on Car with Hind Rajab
IDF orders criminal investigation into the killing of Palestinian girl whose death sparked international outrage.
IDF orders criminal investigation into the killing of Palestinian girl whose death sparked international outrage.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for the first time on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, admitted to opening fire on a vehicle carrying Hind Rajab, a Palestinian girl killed in Gaza in January 2024. The military simultaneously ordered a criminal investigation into her killing, as reported by BBC News and CNN.
According to the BBC, Hind was six years old, while CNN reports she was five. Sources disagree on the girl's exact age. She was one of seven family members traveling in a car that came under suspected Israeli fire in Gaza City.
Hind survived the initial attack in which several family members were killed. For hours, she pleaded by phone for Palestinian medics to come to her, and the desperate recording of her conversation with medical staff went viral, prompting international calls for accountability.
An ambulance dispatched by the Palestinian Red Crescent also came under fire, and two paramedics who attempted to rescue Hind were killed. Her body was found 12 days later in the bullet-riddled car.
The IDF had previously denied involvement in the killing, claiming its forces were "not present near the vehicle or within firing range," according to CNN. In a new statement, the military says that "following a review of the findings" and "due to alleged failures in the coordination of the movement of the Palestine Red Crescent ambulance," it has decided to launch a criminal investigation to be conducted by the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division.
A documentary about this case, "The Voice of Hind Rajab," was nominated for an Oscar in 2026, further testament to the international attention sparked by the girl's death and that of thousands of other children in Gaza.
