Hind Rajab the six-year old Palestinian missing girl, tragically found dead amid the war in Gaza, becomes a symbol of innocent lives lost, as her desperate pleas for rescue and the alleged targeting of a rescue ambulance by Israeli forces raise questions of accountability and the toll of war.
Six-year-old Hind Rajab, who went missing in Gaza City last month, has been found dead along with several of her relatives and two paramedics who attempted to save her.
Hind was trying to escape to the west of Gaza City with her aunt, uncle, and three cousins when the car they were traveling in came under fire, apparently from Israeli tanks.
Audio recordings of calls between Hind and emergency operators suggest that she was the only survivor in the car, hiding among the bodies of her relatives from Israeli forces. Unfortunately, her pleas for rescue ended when the phone line was cut amid the sound of more gunfire.
On Saturday, paramedics from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) managed to reach the area, which had previously been closed off as an active combat zone. They found the black Kia car Hind had been traveling in, with its windscreen and dashboard smashed, and bullet holes scattered across the side.
One paramedic informed journalists that Hind was among the six bodies found inside the car, all showing signs of gunfire and shelling.
A few meters away were the remains of another vehicle – completely burnt out, its engine spilling onto the ground. This, according to the Red Crescent, is the ambulance sent to fetch Hind. Its crew, Yusuf al-Zeino and Ahmed al-Madhoun, were killed when the ambulance was bombed by Israeli forces, the organization says.
The PRCS accused Israel of deliberately targeting the ambulance as soon as it arrived at the scene on 29 January, despite obtaining prior coordination. They shared recordings of Hind’s conversations with call operators publicly, sparking a campaign to find out what had happened to her.
Hind’s mother, Wissam, who held onto the little pink bag and notebook where Hind had been practicing her handwriting at the hospital, demanded accountability for her daughter’s death.
“How many more mothers are you waiting to feel this pain? How many more children do you want to get killed?” she said.
The Israeli army, when asked for details on its operations in the area that day and about the disappearance of Hind and the ambulance sent to retrieve her, stated it was checking. Further inquiries are being made for their response to the allegations made by the Palestinian Red Crescent on Saturday.
The rules of war emphasize the protection of medical personnel and providing timely medical care for the injured in a conflict. Israel has previously accused Hamas of using ambulances to transport weapons and fighters.
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