Children of Gaza war: What happened to Little Hind?
Children of Gaza war: What happened to Little Hind?
Six-year-old Hind Hamadeh is believed to be the sole survivor after her family was killed by Israeli fire but there are huge concerns about her fate.
3 min read
The Red Crescent has expressed concern over the fate of six-year-old Hind Hamadeh and their ambulance workers, following ongoing Israeli aggression in Gaza [Getty]
It's at least 70 hours since news of six-year-old Hind Hamadeh and two ambulance workers sent to rescue her was last reported.
'Little Hind' was trapped in a car with her family - who are believed to be dead - which had come under fire from Israeli forces on Monday, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS).
The organisation had released an audio recording of Hind’s sister Layan, aged 15, appealing for help amid the sound of gunfire.
The Red Crescent said Layan was later killed and Little Hind was trapped inside the car as an ambulance crew attempted to rescue her.
There has not been any confirmation of the fate of Hind and the PRCS workers, identified as Yousef Zaino and Ahmad Al-Madhoun, since the organisation announced they had lost contact with them.
PRCS appealed for information regarding Hind's fate.
"We appeal to the international community to assist and intervene to protect civilians and health care and humanitarian workers," the organisation wrote in a post on X.
Hind’s mother has spoken of her last conversation with Hind during the time of the Israeli attack, when she was told her daughter was alive but severely wounded.
"[Hind] told me 'Mama, I am alive. Layan is a martyr but I am alive,'" Hind’s mother told news publication Al Jazeera on Wednesday.
⭕ 66 hours have passed and the fate of our colleagues Yousef Zaino and Ahmad Al-Madhoun from the PRCS Ambulance Team who went out to rescue the 6-year-old Hind is still unknown.
— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) February 1, 2024
🔊 We appeal to the international community to assist and intervene to protect civilians and health… pic.twitter.com/iNVfArt8mB
"We started to read the Quran together and plea[d] for God. When the Red Crescent would hang up, I would call her again. She told me 'Don’t leave me alone Mama, I am hungry, I am thirsty and I am wounded.'"
"I asked her where she was wounded, she told me 'I am wounded on my hand, my back and my leg.'"
The New Arab approached PRCS for comment but received no response by the time of publication.
Israel launched a brutal air, land and sea offensive that has killed more than 27,000 people in Gaza following Hamas' attack on 7 October.
According to Palestinian officials, more than 11,500 under-18s have been killed by Israeli attacks.
Many more children and adolescents are wounded with life-changing injuries.
In December, the UN children's agency declared Gaza "the most dangerous place in the world" for a child.
UNICEF also said that one child is killed every 10 minutes in Gaza and described the enclave as "a graveyard for thousands of children".
"I'm furious that those with power shrug at the humanitarian nightmares unleashed on a million children," UNICEF spokesperson James Elder previously said.
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