RED CRESCENT SAYS ISRAEL NEVER REACHED OUT ABOUT HIND RAJAB’S
DEATH, DESPITE STATE DEPARTMENT CLAIM THAT ISRAEL SAID
OTHERWISE
When asked about Hind’s killing, the U.S. said that, according to Israel, the
Palestine Red Crescent Society and U.N. have not helped investigate.
Prem Thakker
June 25 2024
GAZA CITY, GAZA - FEBRUARY 10: A Palestinian man looks at the heavy
damaged ambulance going to aid Rajab family, which was targeted by Israeli
forces and became unusable, Tel al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City, Gaza
on February 10, 2024. After the Israeli forces withdrew from the region, it was
seen that an ambulance going to the region to help the 6-year-old Hind
Rajab and five members of her family, who was shot in the Israeli attack, was
also targeted by the Israeli forces. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society
(PRCS) said six-year-old girl Hind Rajab, who was trapped in her family car
after it came under Israeli army in Gaza City, was found dead after nearly two
weeks of uncertainty. The non-profit in a statement late Friday said the
bodies of the child, and two of its paramedics, Youssef Zeino and Ahmed Al-
Madhoon, who went out on a mission to rescue the little girl on Jan. 29 had
been found. (Photo by Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The ambulance that tried to aid the Rajab family was targeted by Israeli
forces and became unusable, in Tel al-Hawa, Gaza, on Feb. 10, 2024. Photo:
Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu via Getty Images
THE ISRAELI MILITARY never contacted the Palestine Red Crescent Society
about Israel’s killing of a 6-year-old Palestinian girl, her family members, and
the paramedics sent to save her, a Red Crescent spokesperson told The
Intercept, refuting the State Department’s first substantive remarks about the
killing that took place 148 days ago.
“Since the attack at our ambulances that was dispatched to save Hind Rajab,
there has been no investigations made by the Israelis or any contact from the
Israelis to the Red Crescent,” said spokesperson Nebal Farsakh. “We as the
Palestinian Red Crescent have not received any kind of communication from
the Israeli military.”
On Monday, State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said that, according
to Israel, the Red Crescent and the United Nations had rebuffed Israeli efforts
to investigate the incident that had made headlines around the world. On
January 29, Hind and her 15-year-old cousin made a desperate call to the
Red Crescent, asking for help while stuck in a car with family members they
said were killed by Israeli fire. After hours of negotiations with the Israeli
military to coordinate safe passage, the Red Crescent dispatched an
ambulance to save Hind (her cousin was killed during their first call), only for
the medics to be found dead near Hind days later.
“All I can tell you is what they’ve told us. And what they have said is, they
went to the U.N. and the Palestinian Red Crescent and asked them to supply
information that would help them, and what they claim is that they were
given none,” Miller said.
His comments came on the heels of an independent investigation by the
U.K.-based firm Forensic Architecture, which concluded that Israeli fire was
most likely responsible for the attack, and that it was “not plausible” that
Israeli forces would not have seen who they shot 335 bullets at.
“It’s not plausible that the shooter could not have seen that the car was
occupied by civilians, including children,” the firm found. “From the tank
position indicated by the greatest alignment between entry and exit holes,
we concluded that the shooter would have had a clear view of the car and its
passengers.”
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Asked about those findings on Monday, Miller noted that Israel said there
were no tanks in the area, and that the State Department couldn’t attest to
any particularities because it is only conveying what Israel has said. The
State Department did not respond to a follow-up question about the Red
Crescent’s statement, nor did the Israeli military.
Hind, in some of her final moments to a Red Crescent dispatcher, said she
had seen a tank nearby.
“They are dead,” Rajab said about her family members who were killed right
in front of her. “The tank is next to me.”
“It’s almost night, I am scared,” she cried. “Come get me, please.”
The Washington Post previously confirmed there were armed military
vehicles in the vicinity, as did Al Jazeera’s analysis of satellite imagery.
Miller, when citing Israel’s claim that there were no tanks in the area, said, “I
am not attesting to any of these facts.” Asked about whether the U.S. will
verify any of Israel’s statements, he added, “It is not for us to do it.”
“Those agencies can come forward and provide information, it’s easy to do
so. If in fact they have information, they should come forward and do it, and
provide, and we’ll be happy to look at that.”
Farsakh also said that the Red Crescent and the International Red Cross
received no information during the 12 days after January 29, when Hind’s
whereabouts were unknown. She also noted that Tel al-Hawa, where the
attack happened, was under evacuation orders issued by the Israeli military
due to ongoing operations at the time. Such conditions prompted the Red
Crescent to make arrangements with Israeli forces to dispatch an ambulance,
a process that took three hours.
It was during those hours that Hind uttered her final, chilling pleas for help.
Despite the coordination, paramedics Yusuf al-Zeino and Ahmed al-
Madhoun were found dead, just meters from where Hind was found on
February 10.
DEIR AL-BALAH, GAZA - NOVEMBER 7: Civil defense teams and citizens
continue search and rescue operations after an airstrike hits the building
belonging to the Maslah family during the 32nd day of Israeli attacks in Deir
Al-Balah, Gaza on November 7, 2023. (Photo by Ashraf Amra/Anadolu via
Getty Images)
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In the nearly five months since the killings, The Intercept repeatedly asked
the State Department about the incident, the status of investigations, and
how the U.S. could continue sending Israel aid if it could not get
straightforward answers on the case. (U.S. policy requires foreign
governments to provide assurances they won’t violate international law with
U.S. weapons; the U.S. found that Israel likely violated law with American
weapons, but did not act on the conclusion.) On almost every occasion,
Miller said the U.S. was asking Israel to investigate.
On February 14, for example, after The Intercept asked about the range of
material available for an investigation to proceed, Miller said the question is
“appropriately addressed to the government of Israel,” but that the U.S.
wanted the incident to be investigated. Several times after, Miller either did
not have an update on the “ongoing” investigation, or said the department
would “come back” after getting an answer.
After nearly 150 days, the State Department finally came back with answers:
ones that relied wholly on Israeli claims — assertions the U.S. admitted it did
not attempt to verify, that deflated upon the slightest provocation.
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