Israel admits its soldiers killed 5-year-old Hind Rajab. Criminal investigation launched

Israel has admitted its military involvement in the death of 5-year-old Hind Rajab and opened a criminal investigation.

On August 19, the Israeli military announced that it would open criminal investigations into two major cases related to the killing of Palestinians during the Gaza war, including the deaths of 5-year-old Hind Rajab and more than a dozen medical workers. The decision was made after a lengthy review by a military fact-finding mission, the New York Times reported.

One of the cases under criminal investigation concerns the January 2024 killing of Hind Rajab and six of her family members in a car in Gaza City. The second case concerns the March 2025 shooting of 14 Palestinian doctors and paramedics in southern Gaza. After the Israeli military killed them, it opened fire, killing a UN worker who was driving past.

World Central Kitchen rejected the military's report and its decision to close the case. The group said in a statement on social media: "There was never any excuse or justification for the attacks, and there is nothing in this report to justify it. The decision is completely untrue and deeply offensive."

The Israeli military also refused to open a case in two other cases. The publication said that a fact-finding mission investigating the conduct of the Israeli military during the war had completed a review of about 150 incidents. The investigating body added that it was made up of experts who operate outside the military's regular chain of command.

**Hind Rajab's Killing**

The killing of 5-year-old Hind Rajab was the most high-profile incident involving the deaths of thousands of children during Israel's war in Gaza. Hind survived the initial fire and was trapped in a car with her dead relatives on January 29, 2024. She pleaded with Palestinian medical workers on her mobile phone for help. An ambulance was dispatched to her in Gaza.

Shortly after they arrived at the scene, dispatchers lost contact with both the girl and the rescuers. Twelve days later, the bodies of the girl, her relatives, and two paramedics were found in the area. The military had previously denied that its troops were near the scene of the girl's death. On Wednesday, the Israeli military admitted that troops had opened fire on the car as it approached them after months of investigation.

The Brussels-based Hind Rajab Foundation, which seeks legal action against Israelis accused of war crimes, said it was "unconvinced" by the Israeli military's decision to open a criminal investigation. The foundation said in a statement: "These reported investigations, even if they take place, should not be mistaken for a genuine step towards justice." It also said Israel's investigation into the actions of its own soldiers was "a fundamental mistake."

The girl's grandmother told Reuters in a Gaza refugee camp that she and the girl's family "lacked faith in the Israeli judicial system." "We hope justice will come from all over the world. We will fully appeal to the international justice system," said Hind Rajab, the grandmother who gave the girl her name.

**"An investigation that rarely leads to convictions"**

Such military police investigations are often slow and rarely result in punishment, according to the New York Times. Rights groups have previously criticized the military's internal investigations into its own actions in the wars, calling them a "whitewash."

Dan Owen, a researcher at the rights group Yesh Din, said that only a "very small" number of investigations over the past decade have led to convictions. Growing political pressure "is further discouraging Israeli law enforcement from holding perpetrators accountable, even when there is clear evidence."

Israel launched the war on October 7, 2023, following a Hamas-led attack. Israeli officials say the attack on October 7 killed about 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages. A U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Hamas and Israel in Gaza came into effect in October 2025. But nearly a year later, Israel continues to carry out what it calls "targeted killings." More than a thousand Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire.