Palestinian responder Rana Faqih, who spent hours on the phone with five-year-old Hind Rajab before she was killed by Israeli troops in Gaza, told The National that Israel opening an investigation into her death is nowhere near enough.
Israel on Wednesday admitted its troops had fired at the car carrying the child 934 days earlier. The vehicle was hit by 355 bullets and six members of Hind's family were killed.
“From the outset, the [Palestine Red Crescent] Society has demanded, and continues to demand, an independent investigation by a neutral and transparent committee,” Ms Faqih said, a day after Israel launched an inquiry.
Hind’s fate only became known 12 days after the killing, when Israeli troops withdrew from the area and the car, containing the bodies of Hind, her aunt, uncle and four cousins, was found in the Tel Al Hawa district of Gaza city.
Hours after Hind's cousin Layan had called the PRCS, Israel approved a rescue operation, which was carried out by Ahmad Al Madhoun and Youssef Al Zeino. The ambulance they travelled in lost contact with the PRCS headquarters in Ramallah, and the medics' bodies were later found nearby.
“Hind was a child crying for help, and the paramedics Ahmad and Youssef who responded to her had one humanitarian mission: to save a life,” Ms Faqih said. “It is deeply painful for a person to lose their life while waiting for someone to save them, and for a paramedic to lose their life while trying to reach them.”
Gaza this week was ranked the world's deadliest place for aid workers for a third consecutive year, with more than 1,700 humanitarian workers killed and at least 95 detained by Israel since October 2023.
“This investigation should not be limited to this single incident but should encompass all violations, targeting and arrests of the Society's staff and volunteers while they were performing their humanitarian duties,” Ms Faqih said.
Israel said Hind's killing was one of 150 such incidents during the Gaza war to have been reviewed by military prosecutors. The military denies wider allegations of genocide or war crimes in Gaza, where more than 73,400 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023.
Announcing decisions on five cases, Israeli prosecutors on Wednesday said Hind's killing and the deaths of 15 Palestinians in an ambush in March last year would be subject to further criminal investigations.
Three other cases have been closed: an Israeli strike that killed World Central Kitchen charity workers in April 2024, and two incidents in which Doctors Without Borders staff were killed.
WCK condemned the decision to close its employees' case. “We fundamentally disagree with their decision about criminal investigations into the … air strikes that killed our team,” the charity said.
It added that Israel's account of the incident did not contain any justification or reason for the aid workers' deaths. “The decision is inconsistent with the full truth and deeply offensive.”
WCK maintained that the workers were unarmed and their whereabouts were known to the Israeli authorities, and that they were travelling in a clearly marked humanitarian vehicle at the time of the strike. “It knew our team’s movements, identities and activities in advance,” the charity added.
