Hind Rajab Criminal Probe Family Says Israel Is Trying to ‘Justify’ a Killing, Not Investigate It More than two years of denial ended in a single statement. And the family of a five-year-old girl says it changed nothing.
The Israeli military acknowledged this week, for the first time, that its troops fired on the car carrying Hind Rajab and six family members in Gaza City in January 2024. The Israel Defense Forces had previously denied involvement in the killing, saying months later that a preliminary investigation found its forces were “not present near the vehicle or within firing range.” Now it says it’s opening a criminal investigation. Her grandmother isn’t buying it.
Israel Admits Firing on Hind Rajab’s Car After Two Years of Denial
At first, Israel denied its soldiers were even in the area where Hind Rajab was killed. That denial held for more than two years, despite independent reporting that contradicted it at nearly every turn.
On Wednesday, the IDF said its troops “fired at a vehicle that was approaching them,” attributing the decision to launch a criminal probe to a review of the findings and alleged failures in coordinating the movement of a Palestine Red Crescent ambulance. It is the first time Israel has admitted to shooting at the car.
Inside the Criminal Probe: What It Actually Covers
The investigation will be run by Israeli military police, not an outside body. Israel’s military said the probe followed a completed review of 150 incidents of troop conduct in Gaza, with decisions made on five specific cases.
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Two of those five now carry criminal investigations: the killing of Hind Rajab and her family, and the killing of 15 Palestinian medics and rescue workers in March 2025. The other three were closed without charges.
Family Reaction: ‘An Attempt to Justify the Crime’
Hind Rajab’s grandmother, also named Hind Rajab, wasted no time responding. She told AFP that her family had no faith in the criminal probe, calling it little more than an attempt by the Israeli military to justify her granddaughter’s killing.
“We were surprised by the statement issued by the Israeli army,” she said, acknowledging it was the first time the military had admitted its mistake. The girl’s mother, Wesam Hamada, called the probe a “long-overdue step,” while insisting “justice has not yet begun.”
- Grandmother: rejects the probe as a justification exercise, not accountability
- Mother Wesam Hamada: wants an open investigation, not a closed military one
- Family’s broader demand: “justice, not only for Hind, but for all Gaza children”
How Hind Rajab Died
Hind Rajab, five years old, was killed on January 29, 2024, in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City while fleeing with her family. Israeli forces fired more than 300 bullets at the black Kia her uncle was driving.
A later investigation involving Al Jazeera, Forensic Architecture, and Earshot found the Israeli tank was likely just 13 to 23 metres away when it opened fire. Her cousin Layan, 15, called Palestinian Red Crescent dispatchers before the line went silent. Hind was the sole survivor in the car, and stayed on the phone with paramedics for hours before contact was lost. Twelve days later, her body and those of two rescue workers were recovered.
Five Cases Reviewed, Only Two Get a Criminal Probe
| Case | Deaths | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Hind Rajab & family (Jan 2024) | 7 | Criminal probe ordered |
| 15 Palestinian medics (Mar 2025) | 15 | Criminal probe ordered |
| World Central Kitchen workers | 7 | No probe |
| Doctors Without Borders staff | Multiple | No probe |
| Third early-war incident | — | No probe |
The military’s statement Wednesday did not address several other high-profile killings that Israel has previously pledged to investigate.
Do Israeli Military Probes Ever Lead to Convictions?
This is where skepticism deepens, and not just from Palestinian advocates. Reuters noted that rights groups say such probes rarely lead to convictions, a pattern Israeli rights organizations themselves have documented.
- Israeli rights groups: internal probes historically yield few, if any, convictions
- Grandmother’s demand: “We hope that justice will be from the entire world. We appeal to the international justice system as a whole.”
- CAIR’s Edward Ahmed Mitchell called the probe “worthless,” adding “no one should take it seriously.”
The ICC Complaint and International Pressure
On May 3, 2025, the date that would have been Hind’s seventh birthday, the Hind Rajab Foundation filed a war crimes complaint with the International Criminal Court naming Lieutenant Colonel Beni Aharon of the 401st Armoured Brigade as the responsible commander.
That filing has since paved the way for additional legal action against battalion officers in other jurisdictions. The foundation’s complaint came after “intense international pressure” tied to the reviews of 150 troop-conduct incidents. A documentary on Hind’s death, “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” was later nominated for an Academy Award, keeping the case in global view.
What Happens Next
Military police investigations in Israel typically move slowly, and there’s no public timeline for when this one concludes. What’s clear is that the family isn’t waiting on it for their sense of justice.
The grandmother has said the family’s demand extends beyond Hind, calling for accountability for all Palestinian children killed during the war. That comes through an Israeli courtroom, the ICC, or neither, remains the open question hanging over Gaza City tonight.
