After a harrowing 12-day search, the body of a six-year-old Palestinian girl, Hind Rajab, missing since an Israeli tank targeted her family’s car in Gaza, has been discovered. Along with Hind, the bodies of two medics dispatched to search for them were also found.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) and Hind’s family confirmed the devastating news on Saturday, revealing that all seven individuals inside the car had perished. The PRCS reported the loss of crew members Yusuf Zeino and Ahmed al-Madhoun, condemning the Israeli attack on civilians in Gaza City.
According to reports from the Palestinian news agency Wafa, family members located Hind’s body alongside her uncle, aunt, and their three children near a roundabout in Gaza City’s Tal al-Hawa suburb. The car bore the scars of bullet holes, indicating the intensity of the assault.
The PRCS statement condemned the deliberate targeting of their ambulance crew, despite prior coordination to rescue Hind. Earlier audio recordings published by PRCS captured Hind’s desperate pleas for help as she remained trapped in the car with the lifeless bodies of her loved ones.
The Israeli army had initially claimed ignorance of the incident. The PRCS had been meticulously documenting the hours since losing contact with Hind and the crew, highlighting the relentless attacks on Palestinian healthcare workers by the Israeli military.
In an interview shortly after the family came under fire, Hind’s mother recounted her final conversations with Hind and her older cousin, 15-year-old Layan Hamadeh, who was also in the car. The recording captured Layan’s chilling words before the line went dead amid gunfire and screams.
The devastating ordeal faced by Hind underscores the dire circumstances for civilians amid Israel’s prolonged assault on Gaza, characterised by widespread condemnation as a “genocide.” Israeli military actions have claimed the lives of nearly 28,000 people, predominantly women and children, since October 7.