Israel gave ambulance sent for Little Hind 'safe passage' before firing at it

The Israeli military provided a safe route to the ambulance sent to rescue six-year-old Hind Rajab - known as Little Hind - after Israeli tanks targeted the car she and relatives were travelling in resulting in the deaths of the rescuers and the family, according to reports.

A review provided by The Washington Post found that the ambulance dispatched to rescue the injured six-year-old was discovered along a "safe route" provided by the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), a unit of the Israeli military that coordinates safe passage for medical vehicles with the army.

The damaged ambulance was found metres away from the car with the Palestine Red Crescent Society paramedics - Yousef Zeino and Ahmed Al-Madhoun - dead with the rounds fired on the vehicle consistent with 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.

This is the moment the Red Crescent received a call from 15yo Layan Hamadeh pleading for help after the vehicle she and her family were in, incl. 6yo sister Hind, was targeted by Israel as they tried to flee Gaza City. In the call, gunfire can be heard, until Layan stops… pic.twitter.com/5ylUJYaRU9

— The New Arab (@The_NewArab) February 1, 2024

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.