The six-year-old girl remained alive for hours among the bodies of her deceased relatives after they were attacked by Israeli troops.
An Israeli tank fired at the family car of six-year-old Palestinian Hind Rajab at close range, and a tank shell directly hit the ambulance sent to help, an investigation has heard.
The killing of the child and his family in Gaza City in late January sparked international condemnation.
Rajab, who survived the first shooting, had cried out for help as she bled out among the bodies of her deceased loved ones while on the phone with paramedics and her mother for three hours.
In a documentary on the killings of civilians during the war on Gaza, the Tel Aviv Tribune television channel Fault lines provided a detailed reconstruction of the incident, compiled in collaboration with nonprofit investigative groups Forensic Architecture and Earshot.
The investigation found that the Israeli tank was likely only 13 to 23 meters (42 to 75 feet) away when it opened fire on Rajab and his relatives in their car.
Through interviews with family members, Palestinian Civil Defense officers and medical responders, the documentary provides the most comprehensive video account of the incident to date.
It also reconstructs for the first time the probable position of the Israeli tank when it fired on the car, as well as the probable trajectory of the tank shell which directly hit the ambulance when it came to rescue Rajab.
The Israeli military refused to answer Tel Aviv Tribune’s questions about the details of the incident. However, the new evidence further refutes the Israeli military’s previous claims that its forces were not present in the area.
The ambulance deployed to help Rajab was attacked after receiving approval from Israeli authorities, accompanied by a map and an approved route.
Two rescue workers, Yousef Zeino and Ahmad al Madhoun, were killed in the attack on the ambulance.
“I will never again meet heroes like them, those who know they are going to die and still leave,” said Omar al-Qam, a dispatcher with the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), who was at the telephone with Rajab and his wife. cousin, who was killed in Israeli fire while pleading for help.
“Hardest feeling”
It took 12 days before Palestinian paramedics and Rajab’s family managed to reach the site of the attack in Gaza City, in the northern part of the enclave.
Rajab’s mother, Wissam Hamada, said the child’s voice weakened toward the end of the phone call.
Hamada said Rajab told her she couldn’t speak because her mouth was bleeding, but she didn’t want to wipe it so her mother wouldn’t have to bother cleaning it.
“I told her, ‘It’s okay, wipe your mouth and I’ll wash it out, darling.’ She has accepted. She wiped herself with her sleeve and the voice disappeared. It was exactly 7 p.m. The voice has completely disappeared,” said Hamada Fault lines.
“It’s the hardest feeling in the world to hear my daughter asking me to pick her up when I can’t reach her. My darling, I swear, I couldn’t reach you. Forgive me, darling.
Rajab’s death sparked global condemnation, including in the United States, which supports Israel’s war on Gaza.
One of two active U.S. airmen seeking to leave military service and become a conscientious objector because of Washington’s support for Israel’s war said Rajab’s assassination marked a turning point for him.
Fault lines also followed other Palestinian families as they recounted horrific experiences and their struggle for survival amid Israel’s incessant war.
Watch the film: “The Night Won’t End”: Biden’s War on Gaza
