Israel allowed ambulance meant for Little Hind to pass before opening fire
According to reports, the Israeli military facilitated a safe passage for an ambulance rushing to rescue six-year-old Hind Rajab, affectionately known as Little Hind. The young girl and her relatives came under attack from Israeli tanks, resulting in the tragic loss of both the rescuers and the family.
According to a report from The Washington Post, the ambulance sent to help the injured six-year-old was located on a designated “safe route” set up by the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), an arm of the Israeli military that works to ensure safe passage for medical vehicles in coordination with the army.
Tragically, the ambulance that was found just meters away from the car carried heartbreaking news: Palestinian Red Crescent Society paramedics Yousef Zeino and Ahmed Al-Madhoun were found dead at the scene. The damage on the vehicle indicated that the rounds fired were consistent with those from Israeli tanks.
Little Hind was the sole survivor of her family after Israeli forces opened fire on the car they travelled in and then on an ambulance crew sent to rescue her. The Palestine Red Crescent Society released audio where Little Hind pleaded for help and spoke of the deaths of her family members trapped in the vehicle with her.
The head of COGAT told The Washington Post the agency had “coordinated everything” with the Israeli military but was “not aware” of the specifics.
The Israeli military, however, denied that any coordination with COGAT had taken place and repeated its claim that its forces were “not present near the vehicle or within the firing range” or were required to provide the ambulance with entry.
When asked about the report, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told The Post that the Israeli army told them that none of their units were in the area.
But an investigation by the Washington Post found that Israeli armoured vehicles were present in the area and that gunfire was audible during an audio recording to the PRCS urging them to rescue her.
Little Hind disappeared after the PRCS lost contact with her, and later Zeino and Al-Madhoun.
The young Palestinian was reportedly travelling with her uncle, aunt, and cousins after fleeing from Israeli ground forces, with Israeli forces opening fire on the vehicle.
After 12 days, Hind’s body was discovered in a car riddled with bullets, according to her uncle, Samir Hamada, who had arrived at the scene early that morning.
Despite coordination with the Israeli forces, PRCS said Israeli forces deliberately targeted the ambulance. Aid officials have said the system of coordination with the Israeli military to protect aid deliveries and ambulances is broken.
Several aid workers from World Central Kitchen were also killed in April in a targeted Israeli airstrike on their vehicle despite it being marked and known to the Israeli military.
