Israel admits its soldiers fired at car in which five-year-old Hind Rajab was killed in Gaza

The Israeli military on Wednesday admitted that its soldiers had opened fire on a vehicle with five-year-old Hind Rajab and six family members on board in Gaza in January 2024, saying that it has ordered a criminal investigation into their killings.

Rajab and her family were fleeing Gaza city when their vehicle was shelled by the Israeli forces. Rajab was trapped inside the car and found dead 12 days later after Israeli forces withdrew from the area. Six of her family members and two paramedics who were trying to rescue them were also killed.

Research agency Forensics Architecture and audio investigations group Earshot said that they mapped 335 bullet holes on the body of the car.

Rajab’s killing became a global symbol of the suffering faced by the children in Gaza because of the conflict.

The incident took place while Israel carried out unprecedented air and ground strikes on Gaza, leaving more than 73,300 persons dead. The Israeli military’s offensive in Gaza had begun in October 2023 after the Palestinian militant group Hamas killed 1,200 persons during its incursion into southern Israel and took hostages.

On Wednesday, the Israeli military said that the findings of an internal examination indicate that its soldiers “fired at a vehicle that was approaching them while travelling contrary to the advanced...

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