Hind Rajab was a five-year-old Palestinian girl from Gaza who became internationally known after she was killed during the Gaza war in January 2024. She was travelling in a car with members of her family when the vehicle came under heavy fire. Her relatives were killed, while Hind initially survived and became trapped inside the damaged car.
Hind managed to speak by phone with the Palestine Red Crescent Society, pleading for help. A recording of her desperate calls circulated widely. A Red Crescent ambulance was eventually sent to rescue her, but contact with the rescuers was lost. Hind, her remaining family members and two paramedics were later found dead.
Why is Israel investigating now?
The Israeli military initially denied that its forces were responsible, saying there were no Israeli troops in the area. However, subsequent investigations using satellite imagery, audio and other evidence challenged that account and indicated that Israeli military vehicles were near the location.
On 19 August 2026, more than two years after Hind's death, the Israeli military acknowledged that its troops had fired on the car and announced a criminal investigation into the incident. The military said its earlier internal review had identified possible failures in coordination and other circumstances requiring criminal examination.
The investigation is significant because it is one of the rare cases in which the Israeli military has moved from an initial denial or internal review to a formal criminal investigation into the conduct of its troops in Gaza. The military has also opened an investigation into the killing of 15 Palestinian emergency workers in Rafah in 2025.
Why are people sceptical?
Hind's family and human-rights groups have expressed little confidence in an Israeli military investigation, arguing that an independent international investigation is needed. Her grandmother has specifically called for an international probe.
So, in simple terms: Hind Rajab became a symbol of the civilian suffering in Gaza because of her desperate final calls for rescue. Israel is investigating because its military has now acknowledged that its forces fired on the vehicle in which she was trapped, despite earlier denying involvement.