6-Year-Old Hind Rajab Has Been Found Dead
Warning: This article includes descriptions of child endangerment, death, genocide, and war.
You might know Hind Rajab as the young girl whose plea for rescue was heard across the globe. But, since that audio recording has been released, the Palestinian Red Crescent has confirmed her death.
Hind Rajab, along with her family, were fleeing the fighting that was occurring in northern Gaza. But, the family was unable to reach safety.
"How many more mothers are you waiting to feel this pain? How many more children do you want killed?"--Wissam Hamada in an interview with the BBC,
While in the car, Hind’s cousin, 15-year old Layan Hamadeh, made a call to emergency services, pleading for help. This call—recorded by the PRCS—was later shared on social media. Loud gunshots were audible throughout the entirety of this call.
“They are shooting at us. The tank is right next to me. We’re in the car, the tank is right next to us," said Layan. The girl then screamed, and went silent. The gunfire stopped right after that. PRCS reports that this is the moment that Layan was killed.
Now alone, scared, and trapped inside a car with the corpses of her loved ones, Hind makes a desperate plea for help on the phone. These recorded pleas have since been shared with the public by the PRCS, which ignited numerous campaigns to find out what happened to Hind.
In response to her pleas, two paramedics with the Red Crescent were dispatched on January 29 with a mission to find Hind Rajab. The Israeli occupation had previously received coordination to allow this ambulance access to rescue Hind.
The PRCS lost contact with the rescue team soon after the ambulance reached Hind’s location. It wasn’t until paramedics were able to reach the area on February 10, that they discovered the two destroyed vehicles. The car that Hind had been traveling in was found smashed to pieces, with bullet holes scattered across the vehicle. A few meters away from Hind’s car, the remains of the ambulance were discovered. The rescue vehicle was completely burned out, with its engine spilling onto the ground.
Hind's mother is now left to grieve the death of her daughter. Wissam Hamada had brought all of her daughter’s belongings, and was waiting outside a hospital, desperate for Hind’s arrival. In an interview by CNN, Hamada is recorded saying, “She is a little girl, her only dream is to be a doctor and treat people.”
