The body of Hind Rajab, a six-year-old Palestinian girl, has been found after she went missing for 12 days following an Israeli tank attack on their family car in Gaza. Two medics who were dispatched to look for them were also found dead.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) and the family confirmed on Saturday that all seven people inside the car were killed. The PRCS lost crew members Yusuf Zeino and Ahmed al-Madhoun in the Israeli attack on civilians in Gaza City.
Family members discovered Hind’s body along with those of her uncle, aunt, and their three children near a roundabout in the city’s Tal al-Hawa suburb, as reported by the Palestinian news agency Wafa.
Hind’s uncle, Sameeh Hamadeh, mentioned that the car was riddled with bullet holes.
The PRCS statement indicated that the occupation deliberately targeted the ambulance crew, stating, “Despite prior coordination to allow the ambulance to reach the location to rescue the child, Hind, the occupation deliberately targeted the Palestine Red Crescent ambulance crew.”
The PRCS had posted an audio file earlier this month in which Hind could be heard pleading for help on the phone with a member of the rescue team. She was terrified and alone in the car with the dead bodies of her family members.
The Israeli army had initially stated that it was not aware of the incident, and the PRCS started a count of the number of hours since it lost contact with Hind and the crew to raise awareness of the challenges faced by Palestinian healthcare workers under constant attacks by the Israeli army.
In an interview with Al Jazeera Arabic following the family’s targeting, Hind’s mother revealed that she had spoken to her daughter and an older cousin, 15-year-old Layan Hamadeh, who was with Hind in the car. Layan reported that they were being shot at and that a tank was next to them. A barrage of shooting was heard, followed by screams, before the line was cut.
The audio clips highlighting Hind’s desperate situation underscored the severe conditions faced by civilians in Gaza due to Israel’s ongoing assault, which has been described by numerous governments as a “genocide.”
According to Israeli tallies, nearly 28,000 people – predominantly women and children – have been killed by Israel’s military since October 7, when Hamas fighters attacked Israel, resulting in over 1,100 deaths and 253 captives taken.
