The Israeli army acknowledges for the first time that its soldiers opened fire on the car in which Hind Rajab, a five-year-old Palestinian woman killed in Gaza in January 2024, was found. More than two and a half years after the facts, she announces the opening of a criminal investigation. This new version directly contradicts the initial findings of the Israeli army, which claimed that its forces were not near the vehicle.
The Israeli army acknowledged on Wednesday 19 August 2026 that its soldiers had fired at the car carryingHind Rajaba 5-year-old Palestinian child whose death had aroused a strong international emotion at the beginning of the war in Gaza.
This recognition constitutes a major change in the Israeli version of the events of the29 january 2024. The army had previously denied the involvement of its soldiers. An initial investigation had concluded that Israeli forces were neither close to the vehicle nor within range of fire.
The new conclusions now say the opposite.
According to the Israeli army, its soldiers opened fire on a vehicle approaching their position. It also acknowledges that a shell was subsequently fired at an ambulance from thePalestinian Red Crescentsent to rescue Hind Rajab.
The case will now be the subject of a criminal investigation by the Israeli military police.
Hind Rajab: Israeli Army changes version
The announcement of 19 August comes after the review of the file by the Israeli military mechanism responsible for establishing the facts concerning incidents during the Gaza operations.
This mechanism examined approximately150 incidents. The case files were then forwarded to the military legal authorities to determine which ones warranted criminal proceedings.
In the case of Hind Rajab, the examination established that Israeli soldiers had actually fired at the car. The army also invokes possible shortcomings in the coordination of the displacement of the Palestinian ambulance.
These elements led to the referral of the Military Police Criminal Investigations Division.
The scope of this decision is mainly due to the contradiction with Israel’s earlier position. After the child’s death, the army indicated that a preliminary investigation did not place his soldiers close enough to the vehicle to have opened fire.
On the contrary, the new finding establishes the presence of Israeli soldiers and their participation in the shooting.
However, it remains to be determined precisely the circumstances in which the soldiers decided to fire, the orders received, the visibility they had and any individual responsibilities. The criminal investigation will also have to examine what happened when the ambulance arrived.
A child stayed in the car for several hours
The facts go back to29 january 2024during Israeli military operations in Gaza City.
Hind Rajab was in a car with several family members when they were shot. The child first survived. Members of his family were dead by his side in the vehicle.
The Palestinian Red Crescent then remained in telephone contact with her for several hours.
The recordings of these calls were then widely circulated. They document the child’s relief requests as Palestinian teams tried to organize an intervention.
An ambulance carrying two paramedics,Youssef al-Zeino and Ahmed al-Madhoun, was finally sent on site. Emergency services lost contact with the crew after arriving in the area.
For several days, the fate of Hind Rajab and the two paramedics remained unknown.
The bodies of the child, his family members and the two rescue workers were found12 days later, when access to the area has become possible again. The car had a very large number of projectile impacts. The ambulance had also been destroyed.
Independent investigations then challenged the first Israeli version. Analyses of the scene and the damage observed on the vehicle had, among other things, sought to determine the origin of the fire and the possible position of the forces present.
The Israeli army now recognizes itself that its soldiers fired at the car.
Ambulance at the Criminal Investigation Centre
The new investigation therefore does not focus solely on shooting at the family vehicle.
The army also acknowledges that a shell was fired at the Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance for the child. It highlights possible failures in the coordination of the movement of the emergency vehicle.
This should be one of the key aspects of the survey.
The Palestinian Red Crescent had explained in 2024 that it had waited for coordination before sending its first aid workers to Hind Rajab. The timing of such coordination and the information actually transmitted to Israeli units on the ground should therefore be established.
In particular, the investigation will need to determine which units were aware of the ambulance, what information had been provided to the soldiers and under what circumstances the fire against the rescue vehicle was carried out.
However, the existence of a criminal investigation does not prejudge its findings. It means that the incident is now beyond the stage of a simple internal operational review and that possible criminal responsibility must be sought.
A second investigation into the death of 15 rescue workers
The Hind Rajab case is not the only one crossing this threshold.
The Israeli army also decided to open a criminal investigation into the death of15 members of the emergency services and Palestinian humanitarian workers in Rafah, March 2025.
In this case, soldiers opened fire on several emergency vehicles. A first Israeli presentation of the events had stated, inter alia, that some vehicles were travelling suspiciously without light signals.
Later images showed emergency vehicles with their emergency lights on.
At that time, the army recognized professional failures. The new examination goes further: according to his findings, the shooting could give rise to a reasonable suspicion of criminal behaviour. A criminal investigation was therefore ordered.
These two procedures are among five decisions made public following the examination of incidents involving civilian or humanitarian victims in Gaza.
Three other cases do not lead to a criminal investigation
The decision concerning Hind Rajab contrasts with the decision in three other cases examined by the military authorities.
No criminal investigation will be initiated into the Israeli strikes that killedseven World Central Kitchen employees April 1, 2024in the central Gaza Strip.
However, the Israeli army had acknowledged serious mistakes after the attack. The vehicles of the humanitarian organization had been hit successively while their movements had been coordinated.
However, the military authorities consider that the available evidence does not establish a reasonable suspicion of criminal conduct justifying criminal proceedings.
Two files concerningDoctors without bordersdo not lead to the opening of such an inquiry. They targeted an attack on an organization building in Khan Yunes in February 2024 and an attack on a convoy in November 2023.
These decisions rekindled criticism of the functioning of Israeli investigative mechanisms for military operations in Gaza.
Human rights organizations have been pointing out for several years that few investigations into the deaths of Palestinians result in charges. Israel also supports the establishment of judicial and military institutions capable of examining suspected violations by its soldiers.
The question of responsibility now raised
In the Hind Rajab case, the immediate issue now concerns the judicial follow-up to Israeli recognition.
The opening of a criminal investigation does not mean that soldiers or officers will be charged. Investigators will be required to identify those involved, rebuild the chain of command and determine whether the fire complies with the rules of engagement and applicable law.
Hind Rajab’s family expressed scepticism about a procedure led by the Israeli authorities. The grandmother of the child called for the intervention of international justice mechanisms.
The Palestinian Representative to the United Nations,Riyadh Mansouralso challenged the credibility of previous israeli investigations and demanded that those responsible for the death of the child be held accountable.
The case had already gone far beyond the framework of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Hind Rajab’s phone calls made his story one of the most famous episodes of the Gaza war. His story also inspired the film« The Voice of Hind Rajab », by the tunisian directorKaouther Ben Hania, presented at the Mostra of Venice and then appointed to the Oscars.
More than two and a half years after the facts, the new element is no longer to know whether Israeli soldiers were within reach of the car. The Israeli army now recognizes that they have opened fire.
The military police investigation must now determinewhy the shooting was carried out, under what conditions the ambulance coming to rescue Hind Rajab was targeted and whether individual criminal responsibilities should be engaged.
