According to preliminary investigations conducted by Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor and testimonies it has collected, a five-year-old Palestinian girl, Hind Rajab, and her relatives were killed in a planned execution carried out by the Israeli army in Gaza City in broad daylight.
Hind and five of her family members were riding in a civilian car in the Tal al-Hawa neighbourhood, in the southwestern part of Gaza City, on Monday, Jan. 29, at around 5 pm, when they were exposed to direct and repeated fire from the occupation army, according to Euro-Med Monitor.
Twelve days after making a distress call while injured and trapped in the destroyed car, Hind was found dead on Saturday, Feb. 10, among other dead bodies of her relatives who were also martyred inside the vehicle. No one could get to her in time to save her.
On the same day, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) also found the bodies of two of its paramedics, who were sent to rescue Hind after receiving her telephoned distress call, and after conducting the security coordination required by Israeli army forces to allow such missions.
The facts show that both crimes took place during daylight hours, which means that the Israeli army forces had clear visibility and were undoubtedly able to identify and distinguish that the occupants of the car were a group of civilians consisting of a family with their children, and that the vehicle approaching the car was an ambulance the same vehicle that had coordinated with the Israeli army to remove the child, Hind, and transport her to the hospital. Euro-Med Monitor notes that this is more proof that the occupation army intentionally targets Palestinian civilians.
According to the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute, five-year-old Hind Rajab, her family, and the two paramedics who attempted to save Hind were all victims of a serious and complex crime that included multiple grave violations and war crimes. The first was the planned unlawful killing of unarmed civilians in a civilian car in broad daylight; the second was the refusal to give urgent medical assistance to injured people when they discovered that a wounded child was still alive; and the third was the intentional unlawful killing of PRCS paramedics on a humanitarian assistance mission, despite their use of the Red Crescent emblem, which is protected by international humanitarian law.
The United States on Monday called the death of five-year-old Gaza girl Hind Rajab, who was last heard pleading alone for help, "heartbreaking" and urged the Israeli occupation to ensure an investigation and accountability.
"We are devastated about reports of the death of Hind Rajab," US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Monday.
"It's just a devastating account, a heartbreaking account for this child," he added.
"We have asked the Israeli authorities to investigate this incident on an urgent basis," Miller said.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs had earlier stated that the execution of the child "Hind," her family, and the Red Crescent crew in the Gaza Strip necessitates the International Criminal Court to assume its responsibilities, issue arrest warrants, investigate the perpetrators, and prosecute the Israeli entity.