According to The Guardian's report on August 19, the Israeli military admitted that its troops fired at a car in Gaza carrying a 5-year-old girl, Hind Rajab, and her six family members in 2024. The military also stated that it has ordered a criminal investigation into this killing.
The killing of Rajab and his family was one of the most prominent incidents among a series of casualties involving civilians in the early months of the Gaza conflict, which sparked outrage among the international community.
On January 29, 2024, Rajab had a three-hour conversation with the Palestinian human rights organization Red Crescent. During the conversation, he pleaded for aid, but unfortunately, he died as a result. At that time, the family was trying to escape from Israel’s new attack on Gaza City. Their vehicle was attacked, and all passengers were killed.
Previously, the Israel Defense Forces denied multiple times that their troops were present near the scene of the incident. However, media reports and other investigations have found strong evidence indicating that nearby Israeli tanks should be responsible for this attack.
Palestinian medical personnel sent an ambulance to rescue Rajab, and kept in contact with him until the signal was lost. The ambulance also came under fire, resulting in the death of two medical personnel. The bodies of the victims were not recovered until 12 days after the Israeli forces withdrew. The Israel Defense Forces also admitted on the 19th that their troops fired at the ambulance.
The military admitted: 'After reviewing the investigation results and considering that there may have been mistakes on our part, it has been decided to initiate a criminal investigation into this incident by the criminal investigation department of the military police.'
On the same day, the Israel Defense Forces also released review reports on four other high-profile incidents in Gaza, stating that they are initiating criminal investigations into the events that led to the deaths of 15 Palestinian medical staff and humanitarian workers in March 2025.
According to on-site phone footage and the statement of the only survivor of the incident, an Israeli unit responsible for ambushing Hamas opened fire at an ambulance that tried to transport wounded from the Israeli offensive. The unit also fired at several emergency vehicles approaching the scene.
Israeli soldiers then used bulldozers to bury the corpses and vehicles in a mass grave. The United Nations and rescuers only arrived at the scene a week later.
The first aid personnel from the Red Crescent Society arrived at the site where colleagues' bodies were buried. The photo is from the Red Crescent Association.
"United Nations official Jonathan Whittal said: 'They were in uniform, they were driving a clearly marked vehicle. They had gloves on and were heading to save lives. This should not have happened.'"
Israeli military initially stated that the shooting was due to the vehicles' suspicious movement 'without turning on their headlights or emergency signals'. However, after videos showed the Red Crescent and civil defense vehicles moving slowly, with emergency vehicles with flashing lights and clearly identifiable markings, the Israeli military retracted this statement.
"There at the scene, I witnessed 15 fellow Palestinian medical staff members being murdered. Moussé Abede said that he hoped "those who killed my colleagues will face a fair trial."
Israeli human rights organization Yesh Din stated that in investigations into criminal acts committed by Israeli soldiers against Palestinians, few cases have led to convictions.
It is noteworthy that on the same day Israel announced the initiation of criminal investigations into the aforementioned cases, Israel carried out an air raid on a Palestinian café, resulting in the death of 7 people. Israeli military officials told local media that the air raid was aimed at “targeting meetings of Hamas commanders”.
