Israel admits killing five-year-old Hind Rajab but clears troops over aid worker deaths

Israel has acknowledged that its troops killed Hind Rajab, a five-year-old Palestinian girl, and opened a criminal investigation into the incident. At the same time, it has refused to pursue a probe into the death of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in a separate attack.

Both incidents occurred in 2024 and prompted international outrage over the conduct of Israeli forces, making them among the most notorious civilian casualties of the Gaza war. 

The contrasting decisions have triggered outrage over Australian citizen Zomi Frankcom, who was among the seven slain aid workers. Canberra summoned Israeli Ambassador Hillel Newman on Thursday, with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong demanding accountability.

The killing of Hind Rajab

Five-year-old Hind Rajab was fleeing Gaza City’s Tel al-Hawa neighborhood with relatives in January 2024 when their car came under heavy Israeli fire. Independent investigators later found hundreds of bullet impacts and estimated that an Israeli tank had been only meters away and would have easily identified the car passengers as civilians.

Hind survived the initial attack and spent hours trapped inside the car alongside her dead relatives, pleading with Palestinian Red Crescent dispatchers by phone to rescue her. An ambulance sent to reach her after coordinating its movement with the Israeli military was subsequently shelled, killing two paramedics.

Hind’s body and those of her relatives and emergency workers were recovered 12 days later, after Israeli forces withdrew from the area

Israel’s response

Despite initially denying that its forces were even in the area where Hind was killed, the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) acknowledged for the first time on Wednesday that its troops had indeed fired on the car carrying the girl and her relatives. It also admitted that a shell was later fired at the Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance sent to rescue her.

The IDF said the findings and alleged failures surrounding coordination with the ambulance warranted a criminal investigation.

In the WCK case, however, the military stated that despite “serious failures” in the attack, commanders’ actions did not raise reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct and no criminal investigation would be opened.

Israel claimed its troops had mistakenly believed a Hamas fighter was traveling with the convoy and claimed it had deviated from an agreed route.

Australia demands answers

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Israel’s decision on the WCK killings fell “far short of the accountability we expect” and said Australia was “outraged.”

She questioned why, if the first strike on the convoy was a “catastrophic error,” two more missiles were fired minutes later. Canberra has also said Israel has still not handed over requested audio from the drone involved in the attack.

Frankcom’s family said it was “deeply disappointed” and called for an independent investigation.

WCK similarly rejected Israel’s findings, saying the IDF had known its workers were unarmed and had “full visual clarity” of their clearly marked vehicles. The organization said the Israeli military “cannot credibly investigate its own conduct.”

Israel doubled down

After being summoned to the Australian Foreign Ministry on Thursday, Israeli Ambassador Hillel Newman defended the IDF’s decision, saying there had been “no criminal intention” to kill innocent civilians and that therefore, there was no criminal responsibility. 

He refused to apologize for the deaths of the aid workers, saying doing so could have “legal ramifications,” and claiming that “there are a lot of haters of Israel in Australia.”

Gaza scrutiny

Despite the IDF announcing an investigation into the murder of Hind and her family, Israeli rights groups have warned that even cases which do reach the criminal investigation stage rarely result in prosecutions. 

Yesh Din researcher Dan Owen told Reuters that only a “tiny” proportion of investigations into soldiers accused of killing Palestinians have led to indictments.

Hind’s grandmother has also said the family does not trust Israel’s judicial system and wants the case pursued internationally.

Gaza casualties

More than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since the Gaza war began in 2023, according to local health authorities, including aid workers, medical personnel and journalists. 

Israel has faced repeated accusations of war crimes over attacks on civilians and humanitarian workers, while maintaining that its operations target Hamas and other armed groups.