Israeli tank fired at Hind Rajab family’s car from several meters away: investigation | News on the Israel-Palestine conflict

The six-year-old was alive for hours among the bodies of her dead relatives after they were attacked by Israeli troops.

According to an investigation, an Israeli tank fired at close range at the family car of six-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab, and a tank shell directly hit the ambulance sent to help.

The killing of the child and her family in Gaza City in late January sparked international condemnation.

Rajab, who survived the first shooting, begged for help as she bled to death among the bodies of her dead relatives and spent three hours on the phone talking to paramedics and her mother.

In a documentary about the killing of civilians in the Gaza war, Al Jazeera TV writes Fault lines provided a detailed reconstruction of the incident, compiled in collaboration with the nonprofit investigative groups Forensic Architecture and Earshot.

The investigation found that the Israeli tank was probably only 13 to 23 meters (42 to 75 feet) away when it opened fire on Rajab and her relatives in their car.

Through interviews with family members, Palestinian Civil Defense personnel and medical aid workers, the documentary provides the most comprehensive video report of this incident to date.

In addition, it reconstructs for the first time the probable position of the Israeli tank when it fired at the car, as well as the probable trajectory of the tank shell that directly hit the ambulance during the rescue of Rajab.

The Israeli military refused to answer Al Jazeera’s questions about the details of the incident. However, the new evidence refutes previous claims by the Israeli military that its forces were not present in the area.

The ambulance that was supposed to help Rajab was attacked after receiving authorization from the Israeli authorities and having a map and an approved route.

Two paramedics, Yousef Zeino and Ahmad al-Madhoun, were killed in the attack on the ambulance.

“I will never meet heroes like them again, who know they are going to die and still carry on,” said Omar al-Qam, a dispatcher with the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS), who spoke by phone with Rajab and her cousin, who died under Israeli fire while pleading for help.

“The most difficult feeling”

It took 12 days for Palestinian medics and Rajab’s family to reach the attack site in the northern part of the Gaza City enclave.

Rajab’s mother, Wissam Hamada, said the child’s voice became weaker towards the end of the phone call.

Hamada said Rajab told her she could not speak because her mouth was bleeding, but she did not want to wipe it so that her mother would not bother to clean it.

“I told her, ‘It’s okay, wipe your mouth and I’ll wash it, my dear.’ She agreed. She wiped it with her sleeve and the voice disappeared. It was exactly 7 p.m. The voice had completely disappeared,” Hamada said. Fault lines.

“It’s the worst feeling in the world when my daughter asks me to pick her up when I can’t reach her. My darling, I swear I couldn’t reach you. Forgive me, darling.”

Rajab’s death sparked worldwide condemnation, including in the United States, which supports Israel’s war against Gaza.

One of two active-duty U.S. airmen seeking conscientious objection to military service because of Washington’s support for Israel’s war said Rajab’s killing marked a turning point for him.

Fault lines also followed other Palestinian families as they recounted horrific experiences and their struggle for survival in the midst of Israel’s relentless war.

Watch the film: “The Night Will Not End”: Biden’s War on Gaza