Hind Rajab’s family says criminal probe attempt by Israel army to ‘justify’ killing

InternationalMust ReadHind Rajab's family says criminal probe attempt by Israel army to 'justify' killingBy AFP -Aug 20, 2026Add ARY News on GoogleAAResizeThe grandmother of Hind Rajab told AFP her family had no faith in a criminal probe into the five-year-old’s death in Gaza in 2024, calling it little more than an attempt by the Israeli military to “justify” her killing. Hind Rajab’s body was recovered from a car riddled with bullets in Gaza City days after she was last heard from in a desperate, hours-long phone call to the Palestinian Red Crescent on January 29, 2024. Her death sparked international outrage and calls for an independent investigation. The Israeli military on Wednesday admitted its troops fired on the car carrying Rajab and her family, after previously denying soldiers were present in the area. It said it had ordered a criminal investigation by the military police following a “review of the findings and due to alleged failures in the coordination of the movement of the Palestine Red Crescent ambulance”. “We were surprised by the statement issued by the Israeli army,” Hind Rajab’s grandmother, also called Hind Rajab, told AFP, acknowledging it was the first time the military had “admitted its mistake”. “But for us this is not an admission but rather an attempt by the Israeli army to justify to the world how it committed the crime and how they executed Hind,” she added. “The army is trying to justify its position to the world, claiming that what happened was a mistake and that the soldiers who committed it will be prosecuted.” Five-year-old Rajab made the harrowing emergency call after her family’s car came under fire during an attempt to flee Gaza City amid an Israeli advance. Her body was eventually recovered along with those of six family members and two Red Crescent rescuers sent to find her. The original audio recordings of her plea for help were incorporated into the Oscar-nominated feature film “The Voice of Hind Rajab”.  ‘Justi...