Israel army admits firing on car in Gaza death of five-year-old

GAZA CITY

Mourners carry the flag-draped bodies of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes during the war with Hamas, whose remains were recently recovered from the rubble, at a cemetery Gaza City, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP Photo)

The Israeli military has admitted its troops fired on a car carrying five-year-old Hind Rajab in Gaza in 2024, saying it had ordered a criminal investigation into the killing which drew international outrage.

Rajab’s body was recovered from a car riddled with bullets in Gaza City days after she was last heard from in a desperate, hours-long phone call to the Palestinian Red Crescent on January 29, 2024.

The Israeli military had previously denied its troops were present in the area near the incident.

But it on Aug. 19 said its findings indicated troops had “fired at a vehicle that was approaching them while travelling contrary to the advance notice” that had been given to residents in the area.

The military also published reviews into four other high-profile incidents in Gaza, saying it was launching a criminal probe into the 2025 killing of 15 Palestinian medics and humanitarian.

Rajab had made the emergency call after her family’s car came under fire during an attempt to flee Gaza City amid an Israeli advance.

Her body was eventually recovered along with those of six relatives and two Red Crescent rescuers sent to find her.

Her death sparked international outrage and calls for an independent investigation and the original audio recordings of her emergency call were incorporated into the Oscar-nominated feature film “The Voice of Hind Rajab.”

But the Hind Rajab Foundation, a Brussels-based legal organization seeking to address alleged Israeli violations in Gaza, said it had “no confidence” in the Israeli military probe.