The Facts of the Matter

On January 29, 2024, Rajabd’s uncle Bashar Hamada attempted to flee Gaza City in a Kia Picanto with his wife, four children, and Rajab, driving to an area designated as safe by the IDF. Moments into their escape, five of the car’s occupants were killed by heavy gunfire. Only Rajab and her fifteen-year-old cousin, Layan Hamada, survived. Layan called the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) seeking help, and described, in panic, an approaching tank. Rapid-fire volleys, a shrill scream, and sudden silence were the last things the PRCS workers heard before Layan was killed.

Surrounded by the bodies of her murdered relatives, six-year-old Rajab remained alone and wounded in the car. She remained in contact with PRCS workers for more than three hours. In a recording of the conversation released by the PRCS, Rajab is heard pleading with a PRCS staff member: “Come get me. I’m so scared, please come.”

A few hours later, the Israeli Civil Administration of the Occupied Territories (COGAT) authorized the PRCS to send an ambulance with two paramedics, Yusuf Zeino and Ahmed al-Madhoun. Contact with them broke off shortly before they reached Rajab. Given the immense risks involved, no further ambulances were sent.

Rajab’s mother, Wissam Hamada, who had fled on foot with her older children, pleaded with the world to enable the six-year-old to be rescued. Under increasing international pressure, the United States urged Israel to investigate the incident internally. Twelve days passed, during which Rajab’s family could do nothing but hope that the six-year-old might have been picked up by the IDF.

When Israeli tanks finally cleared the area, they found the bullet-riddled Kia and the remnants of the ambulance, just fifty meters away from the car. All passengers were dead.

Rajab’s family and the international public continued to demand accountability. Following an initial internal investigation, the Israeli army declared that its troops had not been in the vicinity of the Kia and that permission to request an ambulance had not been required in the area.

Skirmishes Over the Truth

The Washington Post was able to refute these claims in cooperation with experts in Open Source Intelligence (OSINT). Satellite imagery proves beyond doubt the presence of Israeli military vehicles near the Kia at the time of the attack, and investigations revealed that COGAT had given the PRCS authorization to conduct an ambulance rescue. The destroyed vehicles were also on a route declared safe by Israel. The specific patterns of gunfire heard during the distress calls point to Israeli weapons, as do the bullet holes on the PRCS ambulance, which six munitions experts said resembled those left by ordinance typically used by Israeli tanks.

Yet no consequences followed the publication of the report and Israel’s allies have yet to draw any conclusions from it. US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller repeatedly stated that the United States remained committed to an internal Israeli investigation. As the news cycle continued to spin, the investigation into the circumstances of Rajab’s death was in danger of being forgotten.

It was at that point that Forensic Architecture took on the case. They collaborated with two other research teams: one from Earshot, a nonprofit organization that undertakes acoustic investigations for human rights and environmental protection, and another from an Al Jazeera investigative unit, Fault Lines, which had originally commissioned the investigation.

The research team expanded the investigation into the circumstances of the deaths of Rajab, her relatives, and paramedics Zeino and al-Madhoun. Their primary objective was to identify those responsible: Which Israeli military vehicles were nearby at the time of the crime? Which directions did the gunfire come from and from how far away? What ammunition was used to kill Layan and to shoot at the ambulance? Could the shooters have recognized the civilians in the Kia?

Satellite imagery makes it possible to geolocate the Kia and the family’s escape route. A 3D video reconstruction produced by the research team suggests that the car was run over and pushed aside by an armored IDF Caterpillar bulldozer.

Another 3D model, generated by photos of the bullet-riddled car, enables inferences to be drawn from the 335 bullet holes in the Kia. Adjacent bullet holes indicate that salvos were fired, while the size and shape of the holes make it possible to distinguish between bullet holes and exit holes and thus identify the most likely direction of fire.

The Facts Become Clearer

Earshot’s analysis of Layan’s conversation with the PRCS demonstrates that the velocity of the shots heard exceeds the capacity of the AK-47 assault rifles that Hamas use. However, the velocity does match three weapons used by the IDF, including the M4 assault rifle. Further audio and video analysis by the research team suggests that the vehicle opening fire was probably an Israeli Merkava tank, positioned no more than twenty-three meters away from Layan’s phone.

In their emergency calls with the PRCS, both Layan and Rajab described approaching tanks. Forensic Architecture’s analysis confirms these statements in its conclusion. Given the proximity, the tank gunner could have recognized the car occupants as civilians and children. Thus, the party most likely responsible for the killing of the seven family members is the IDF.

Forensic Architecture’s investigation also reconstructs the position of the PRCS ambulance at the time it came under gunfire. The trajectory of the deadly projectile matches the location of nearby Israeli tanks based on satellite imagery taken during that day. The independent research collective concludes, therefore, that the ambulance was probably attacked by an Israeli tank. The IDF would also bear responsibility for this, as the PRCS had coordinated its operation with COGAT.

The Hind Rajab Case Is Better-Documented Than Others

Although the analysis leaves little doubt as to Israel’s responsibility, it cannot replace official, supranationally legitimized, and independent investigations. While OSINT investigations may be becoming increasingly relevant, variation in quality requires caution to be exercised; only recognized and meticulous research teams such as Forensic Architecture, Earshot, or Bellingcat and the investigative teams of established media such as the Washington Post should be believed.

Forensic Architecture is particularly relevant for groups who, for political reasons, have their concerns ignored by state or supranational investigative authorities. Because the multidisciplinary research group disseminates the results of its investigations to a global audience, it increases the pressure for international legal examinations on (war) crimes and human rights violations. Forensic Architecture thus offers one glimpse of accountability — even for influential state (or state-supported) actors who disregard international law.

Massive international pressure must be applied to Israel and Hamas to finally reach a long-term cease-fire and to prepare an international, independent commission of inquiry into the war crimes committed by both sides. Israel often rejects criticism of its human rights record and its conduct of the war as unfair or motivated by antisemitism. In doing so, the Israeli government calls into question the work of numerous credible international organizations and attempts to prevent them from intervening or demanding accountability, as has recently been the case with the Red Cross.

In addition, internal investigations are cited as an argument against independent international investigations. However, Israel’s own investigations into war crimes and the killing of civilians often failed to offer accountability or justice, as Rajab’s and many other cases show.

“The Killing of Hind Rajab” brings renewed urgency to the debate. Israel’s Western allies should take it as an opportunity to urgently call for an independent international investigation into all war crimes committed by both warring parties since October 7, 2023. Such support for the enforcement of international law is desperately needed, regardless of foreign policy alliances.

Forensic Architecture’s investigation into the death of Rajab should serve as a model for major Western media outlets, who ought to — finally — recognize their responsibility to critically question and follow up on the public statements of both warring parties in the Gaza War. At the very least, they should no longer ignore the investigation, its results and implications, but follow up on it. After all, Hind Rajab’s death is no isolated case, but an example of the ongoing violence experienced by thousands of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip from October 7 to the present day.