Massacred while begging for help: Israel killed even those who came to save her.
Hind Rajab was born on May 3, 2018, in Gaza City, Palestine, into a civilian population living under blockade, repeated military operations, and structural deprivation. She was a child, with no political role, no protection, and no possibility of escape from the reality imposed on her life. On January 29, 2024, while attempting to flee the Tel al-Hawa area with members of her family during an Israeli military offensive, the vehicle they were in was struck by Israeli fire. The adults and children with her were killed. Hind survived the initial attack, wounded and trapped inside the car, surrounded by the bodies of her relatives.
For hours, she remained in contact by phone with operators of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society. Her voice—frightened, lucid, and desperate—documented in real time the abandonment of a child under fire. She described tanks nearby and begged for rescue. A medical team was dispatched after coordination intended to allow safe passage. That ambulance was also hit, and the two paramedics sent to save her were killed. Contact with Hind was lost. For days, her fate remained unknown. On February 10, 2024, after Israeli forces withdrew from the area, her body was found alongside those of her family and the rescue team.
The case provoked global outrage. The Palestinian Red Crescent accused Israeli forces of deliberately targeting both civilians and coordinated medical responders. Amnesty International attributed the killing of Hind and the paramedics to the Israeli army, describing it as a violation of the laws of war and fundamental human rights. Independent investigations and journalistic reconstructions have challenged official denials and reinforced the evidence of military presence and responsibility in the area at the time of the attack. No definitive judicial accountability has followed.
Hind Rajab has become one of the most devastating symbols of the war in Gaza: a child left alive long enough to ask for help, then killed along with those who tried to reach her. Her death embodies the collapse of protection for civilians and the targeting, direct or indirect, of those who attempt to save them.
I publish this series to remember the real history, to honor those who gave their lives for dignity, freedom and justice, to oppose propaganda, to speak to younger generations, and to invite conscience and resistance. I publish it also because what is happening in Gaza today cannot be separated from a long history of violence, dispossession and denial of rights. When a child can be trapped under fire, calling for help for hours, and the rescue meant to save her is destroyed, it is not an accident: it is the breaking of every boundary that should exist, even in war. This series exists to name responsibility, to refuse silence, and to insist that no power has the right to erase human life without consequence.
