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Rajab Probe Opened
Israel’s military announced a criminal investigation into the death of 5-year-old Hind Rajab, after it admitted its troops opened fire on a car carrying her and her family members in Gaza in 2024.
“due to alleged failures in the coordination of the movement of the Palestine Red Crescent ambulance”
The killing, described as occurring on January 29, 2024 at about 7:30pm, came after Rajab’s family was forcibly displaced from Gaza City and tried to follow Israeli orders to leave.
Al Jazeera reported that Israel’s army said it had raided “terror targets” in Gaza City that day, while the military said the probe was decided “due to alleged failures in the coordination of the movement of the Palestine Red Crescent ambulance”.
Reuters said the internal fact-finding mechanism found troops opened fire as the vehicle was approaching them, and that “a shell was later fired at a Palestine Red Crescent ambulance” dispatched to save Rajab.
The Associated Press said the investigations focus on Rajab and her family and on the killings of 15 Palestinian paramedics, and that the military would not probe three other attacks that killed aid workers from World Central Kitchen and Doctors Without Borders.
Skepticism and Condemnation
Palestinians and rights advocates questioned whether the new probes will deliver accountability, with Dyab Abou JahJah telling Al Jazeera, “We do not trust the Israeli justice system, not out of an ideological position, but because of the track record,”.
The Associated Press reported that Hind Rajab’s grandmother, also named Hind Rajab, said, “An international investigation is required to uncover the truth and hold all those responsible accountable,”.
Israel’s military said it would not probe three other attacks that killed aid workers from World Central Kitchen and Doctors Without Borders, and the AP said the statement did not mention other high-profile killings it has pledged to investigate.
Chef José Andrés, founder of World Central Kitchen, condemned the decision on X as “wrong and painful,” according to the Associated Press.
CNN reported that Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour slammed Israel’s past investigations as “not independent and not credible,” telling CNN’s Jim Sciutto that he doesn’t believe this investigation will be any different.
What’s at Stake Next
The military’s announcement came after it said it completed reviews of 150 incidents of troop conduct in Gaza and made decisions on five cases, while also saying it would not launch criminal investigations into three other attacks that killed aid workers from World Central Kitchen and Doctors Without Borders.
“completed reviews of 150 incidents of troop conduct in Gaza and made decisions on the five cases”
In the Rajab case, Reuters said her death followed gunfire that left her trapped in a car surrounded by the bodies of her relatives, and that her 15-year-old cousin Layan spoke to Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) workers by phone before she was killed.
The Associated Press said the military’s statement admitted it fired at the car carrying the 5-year-old, four of her cousins and her aunt and uncle as they fled an Israeli invasion of Gaza City, and that Palestinian paramedics dispatched an ambulance that stayed on the line until contact was lost.
For the second focus of the probes, the AP said the investigations also cover the killings of 15 Palestinian paramedics, after which troops bulldozed their bodies into a mass grave and U.N. and rescue workers reached the site a week later to dig out the bodies.
CBS News said the investigations will be conducted by Israeli military police, and it quoted Palestinian Red Crescent spokesperson Nebal Farsakh saying, “The story of Hind is not the only story. It's absolutely dozens of calls we're getting since the beginning of the war in Gaza, where we feel helpless,”.
