A bullet-riddled vehicle representing the family car of six-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab went on display in Berlin on August 30, 2026, as Israel’s military announced criminal investigations into troop conduct during the Gaza war, including the killings of the child, her relatives, and fifteen Palestinian paramedics.
Activists in Berlin memorialized Hind Rajab by exhibiting a recreation of the Rajab family car, which was discovered bearing 335 bullet holes. The installation coincides with a military announcement from Jerusalem detailing its first criminal probes into specific soldier actions in Gaza, following months of heavy international outcry over civilian casualties.
Criminal Investigations Announced Into Hind Rajab and Paramedic Killings
The Israeli military stated that it had finished reviewing 150 incidents of troop conduct in Gaza and reached decisions on five specific cases. According to reporting from The Associated Press, the newly opened criminal investigations focus on the deaths of five-year-old Hind and her relatives, alongside the killings of 15 Palestinian paramedics. At the same time, the military elected not to probe three other high-profile attacks that claimed the lives of aid workers from World Central Kitchen and Doctors Without Borders.
Chef José Andrés, founder of U.S.-based World Central Kitchen, condemned the decision on X, calling it wrong and painful.
The military’s review process also omitted several other high-profile incidents, such as August 2025 airstrikes on a southern Gaza hospital that killed five journalists, including visual journalist Mariam Dagga.
The Fatal February 2024 Phone Calls and Ambulance Attacks
The investigation into Hind Rajab centers on an incident from February 2024, when the five-year-old was trapped inside a vehicle with her aunt, uncle, and four cousins as they fled an Israeli invasion of Gaza City. As gunfire struck the car, 15-year-old Layan Hamada called the Palestinian Red Crescent paramedic center to report that her family had been killed, according to recordings from the center. Additional gunshots sounded on the line, and Layan’s voice stopped.
Palestinian paramedics dispatched an ambulance and remained on the phone with Hind until contact disappeared. Twelve days later, searchers found the bodies of Hind, her five relatives, and two rescue medics from the ambulance. The military acknowledged firing toward the car and admitted that troops also fired on the rescue ambulance, killing the two medics inside.
A separate case under investigation involves the March 2025 killing of 15 medics and emergency responders from the Red Crescent and Gaza’s Civil Defense. Troops fired on an ambulance in Rafah as it approached casualties, then fired on subsequent rescue vehicles before bulldozing the bodies and vehicles into a mass grave. While the military initially claimed the vehicles were advancing suspiciously without lights, it later backtracked after footage emerged showing the teams driving slowly with flashing emergency lights and visible logos. A deputy commander was directed to step down over the incident.
Skepticism From Family Members and Relief Organizations
Relatives of the victims and humanitarian groups expressed deep skepticism regarding the military investigations. Hind’s grandmother, who shares her name, told reporters that the domestic inquiry falls short of accountability.
She added, We call for justice, not only for Hind, but for all Gaza children.
Dyab Abou Jahjah, director of the Belgium-based Hind Rajab foundation, characterized the military inquiries as a charade meant to whitewash the culprits instead of convicting them.
Raed al-Nims, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Red Crescent in Gaza, reiterated that Israeli measures are not enough,
while colleague Eid Azizi noted that the organization views formal proof as unnecessary given the circumstances.
The Health Ministry in Gaza reports that the broader military campaign has killed more than 73,000 people, including tens of thousands of women and children. While rights groups and United Nations commissions argue the campaign amounts to genocide and war crimes, Israel denies the accusations, maintaining that it targets Hamas following the October 2023 attacks and contending that its domestic justice system can properly address troop violations.