Military admits role in high-profile 2024 Gaza killing after years of denial, as rights groups question likelihood of accountability.
Israel’s military has acknowledged for the first time that its troops opened fire on the car carrying five-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab and members of her family in Gaza in January 2024, and said it has opened a criminal investigation into the killings that drew widespread international outrage.
IDF Opens Probe Into Hind Rajab Car Shooting:
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the findings of an internal examination indicated that troops fired at a vehicle that was “approaching them” and travelling “contrary to the advanced notice” issued by the military to residents of the area. Five of the passengers were killed in the initial shooting; Hind and her 15-year-old cousin Layan Hamada initially survived.
The family had been trying to flee an Israeli offensive in the Tel al-Hawa neighbourhood of Gaza City when their black Kia Picanto came under fire. Hind’s cousin called the Palestinian Red Crescent, describing the scene amid the sound of gunfire. The two girls remained on the line for hours as they pleaded for rescue. An ambulance was coordinated to reach them, but according to the military’s account and earlier reports, a shell was later fired at the ambulance, killing the two paramedics on board.
Hind’s body, along with those of her relatives and the paramedics, was recovered 12 days later after Israeli forces withdrew from the area. The car was found riddled with bullets. The case became one of the most emblematic of civilian suffering in the early months of the war, amplified by the audio of Hind’s final calls that circulated globally.
For more than two years, the IDF had maintained that its forces were not present near the vehicle or within firing range at the time. Media investigations and satellite imagery had previously pointed to the presence of Israeli tanks in the vicinity. The military’s latest review reverses that position and cites “alleged failures in the coordination of the movement of the Palestine Red Crescent ambulance” as a key reason for referring the case to the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division.
Israel Probes Gaza Killings Amid Calls for Justice:
In the same announcement, the IDF said it was also opening a criminal investigation into the March 2025 killing of 15 Palestinians, including emergency and aid workers, in the Tel al-Sultan area of Rafah. In three other high-profile cases-including the April 2024 strike that killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers-the military said it found no basis for criminal probes.
Rights groups and the Hind Rajab Foundation have expressed deep scepticism, noting that Israeli military investigations into the killing of Palestinians rarely result in convictions. Hind’s grandmother, also named Hind Rajab, told media that an internal probe was insufficient and called for an independent international investigation into her granddaughter’s death and those of other children killed in Gaza.
The decision follows a lengthy internal fact-finding process reviewing more than 150 incidents. Critics argue that the process lacks independence and transparency, while the military describes the operational environment in Gaza as exceptionally complex. The criminal investigations will be conducted by military police, with outcomes still pending.
Hind Rajab’s story has remained a powerful symbol of the human cost of the conflict. A documentary about her final hours, The Voice of Hind Rajab, received international recognition. As the probes begin, families, rights organisations and observers will be watching closely to see whether the rare admissions translate into genuine accountability or remain largely symbolic.