The Israeli military has, for the first time, admitted that its soldiers opened fire on the car carrying five-year-old Hind Rajab in northern Gaza in January 2024, reversing a previous position that denied any involvement in her death. According to CNN, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) had maintained for months that a preliminary inquiry found its forces were not near the vehicle nor within firing range. On August 19, however, the military published findings from its General Staff's Fact Finding and Assessment Mechanism that directly contradict that position.
IDF Admits Troops Fired on Vehicle Carrying Hind Rajab
"The findings of the examination indicate that IDF troops fired at a vehicle that was approaching them," the IDF said in a statement, adding that it had decided to launch a criminal investigation by its Military Police Criminal Investigation Division. Rajab was one of seven family members in a car travelling through northern Gaza when Israeli fire struck the vehicle. She survived the initial attack and spent hours on the phone with Palestinian Red Crescent paramedics, begging for rescue. The ambulance sent to reach her also came under fire. Twelve days after the attack, her body was recovered in a bullet-riddled car. Recordings of her calls drew global attention and fuelled demands for accountability. A film about her ordeal, "The Voice of Hind Rajab," received an Oscar nomination in 2026.
Criminal Investigations Opened for Rajab and 15 Paramedics
The IDF's criminal investigation into Rajab's killing is one of five decisions published Wednesday out of 150 incidents reviewed. The other investigations now await a ruling from the military advocate-general. The military also announced a criminal investigation into the March 2025 killing of 15 paramedics and emergency responders whose convoy was struck while travelling in marked vehicles. The IDF had initially claimed the vehicles moved suspiciously without lights or emergency signals, a claim contradicted by video evidence showing the convoy travelling with flashing lights. The paramedics were buried in a mass grave alongside their vehicles. The IDF said Wednesday that "the firing conducted during the incident raises a reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct."
Three Incidents Cleared, World Central Kitchen Rejects Findings
In three other cases, however, the military advocate-general found no grounds for criminal proceedings. These included the April 2024 killing of seven World Central Kitchen workers in Deir El-Balah, and two separate strikes on Médecins Sans Frontières facilities and convoys in 2023 and 2024 that killed four employees. On the WCK incident, the IDF acknowledged "serious failures" in the process that led its forces to mistakenly believe the convoy had been taken over by Hamas fighters, but said criminal misconduct could not be established. WCK rejected that conclusion in a sharp statement: "At the time of the lethal attacks, the IDF knew that our team in Gaza was unarmed and posing a threat to nobody. It had full visual clarity on our clearly marked humanitarian vehicles during the extended, multiple airstrikes." The organisation called the findings "inconsistent with the full truth and deeply offensive," accusing the military investigation of conflating timelines and shifting blame.
Global Outrage and Ongoing Accountability Demands
Legit.ng earlier reported that Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera announced on Saturday, June 20, 2026, that its journalist Ahmed Wishah was killed in an Israeli drone strike targeting a house in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza. The strike also wounded several people, according to the channel's correspondent. The IDF's criminal investigation into Rajab's killing and the paramedics' deaths marks a significant shift in the military's stance, as global outrage continues to fuel demands for accountability in the ongoing conflict.
