Listen
On 29 January 2024, six members of Hind Rajab’s family were killed when their car came under fire as they tried to flee Gaza City. Hind, aged five, survived and spent hours on the phone with Palestine Red Crescent dispatchers, asking for help. An ambulance was sent only after the Red Crescent says it received clearance from the Israeli military. It was struck too, killing two paramedics, Yusuf Zeino and Ahmed al-Madhoun. Hind, her relatives and the two paramedics were found dead 12 days later.
For more than two years, the Israeli military denied having forces in the area. Independent investigations told a different story: Forensic Architecture found the car had been hit by 335 bullets and concluded that an Israeli tank had likely attacked the ambulance. In August 2026, the military finally acknowledged that its troops fired on the car and the ambulance, and announced a criminal investigation by its own military police, citing alleged failures in coordinating the ambulance’s movement. Hind’s mother called it a long-overdue step but said justice had not yet begun. The Hind Rajab Foundation described the inquiry as a whitewash, and the family has asked for an independent investigation.
The case has now reached New York. On 19 October, the Hind Rajab Foundation asked the US Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute Major Sean Glass, an Israeli officer it says commanded a unit stationed a few hundred metres from the family’s car. The foundation says photographs show him in New York, and the reason for his visit is unknown. US Representative Rashida Tlaib has backed calls for action. It is important to be precise: Glass has not been charged, the foundation’s claims have not been tested in a court, and the Israeli military’s admission did not name him or say who gave any order. Filing a complaint does not establish guilt.
Sources: CNN, 19 August 2026; Associated Press, 19 August 2026; Al Jazeera, 20 August 2026; Middle East Eye, August 2026; IBTimes UK, 22 October 2026
Leave a Reply