In January 2024, Israeli forces fired 335 rounds at a car in Gaza that housed six‑year‑old Hind Rajab and her family, killing the entire family but sparing a 15‑year‑old who later helped locate the vehicle.
Incident Overview
On the last day of January 2024 an evacuation order for the Tel al‑Hawa district of Gaza forced a six‑year‑old girl, Hind Rajab, to travel in a small car with her aunt, uncle and four cousins, while other family members were told to walk. The convoy became trapped near a ruined gas station, the site of the fighting, where Israeli artillery engaged the vehicle, killing all occupants except a 15‑year‑old named Layan who managed to contact her uncle in Germany and the Palestinian Red Crescent.
Surveillance footage and satellite imagery later showed a tank in close proximity—between 13 and 23 metres from the car—suggesting that the shots were fired by Israeli forces operating near the convoy.
Survivor and Rescue Efforts
Prisoners of Republican Coordination Service (PRCS) staff spoke for several hours with the surviving six‑year‑old who begged to be taken and not left alone. A single ambulance was dispatched, but the vehicle had to be found in darkness by the evening after traveling an authorised route to the gas station. An explosion caused by a projectile from the Israeli tank killed the car and left the child bleeding, but she did not try to wipe her blood to avoid distressing her mother, who had promised to keep the clothing.
Investigations Reveal 335 Shots
Forensic Architecture at the London School of Economics, the Earshot sound‑analysis group, and Al Jazeera’s “Fault Lines” journalists reconstructed the event. By analysing call recordings, a 3‑D model of the vehicle two weeks after the incident, and satellite photos, they determined that 335 rounds from either an M4 or FN MAG automatic rifle—standard weapons on Merkava tanks—were fired at the civilian car.
The shooting radius could not have been unnoticed by the soldiers, given the proximity of the tank and lack of any official claim of military presence in the area.
International Attention and Film
Hind Rajab’s case has been featured in the documentary “Voice of Hind Rajab,” shown at Poland’s Warsaw Film Festival and slated for a 29 January 2026 premiere. The film’s production involved high‑profile personalities, including Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix, and Rooney Mara. Despite global scrutiny, Israel has continued to deny responsibility, citing the absence of a military presence in the area even though satellite images confirm at least fifteen Israeli military vehicles in the vicinity.
Key Military Personnel Identified
Investigations named over twenty soldiers and officers, including 42‑year‑old Benny Aharon, commander of the 146th Infantry Division and former commander of the 401st Armoured Brigade. Aharon was alleged to have authorized the attack that killed the six‑year‑old, and his subordinates, such as Major Sean Glass of the “Vampire Empire” company, reportedly commanded the specific act of shooting at the vehicle and attacking the ambulance that arrived later.
Glass and other soldiers belong to units that have been active in Gaza since the October 2023 invasion, with the 52nd Armoured Battalion, “HaBok’im,” noted for its role in assaults on hospitals.
Legal Actions and Claims
The Hind Rajab Foundation filed a complaint against Aharon in The Hague, and the ongoing investigation has produced a 120‑page indictment addressed to the International Criminal Court, named widely in the report.
Additional lawsuits have been pursued against soldiers who are confirmed to have had dual nationalities, such as Argentine‑born Itay Choukirkov, with authorities in Buenos Aires awaiting a response.
Al Jazeera reporters also highlighted the proliferation of social‑media posts from soldiers boasting of military successes, including footage of child casualties, further complicating the legal picture.
