An investigation by Al Jazeera Arabic and the Hind Rajab Foundation revealed new details surrounding the killing of the young Palestinian child and her family in Gaza.
A new documentary investigation by Al Jazeera Arabic’s program What’s Hidden is Greater has publicly identified Israeli military personnel responsible for the killing of five-year-old Hind Rajab, her family, and the Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance crew who attempted to rescue her in January 2024.
The report names officers from Israel’s 401st Armored Brigade, including battalion commander Daniel Ela and field officer Sean Glass.
The documentary also revealed that the unit responsible referred to itself as the “Vampire Empire,” a group reportedly composed partly of foreign and dual-national soldiers.
Among them is Itay Shukirkov, an Argentine-Israeli dual national, who is now the subject of a war crimes complaint filed in Argentina.
In response to the revelations, the Brussels-based Hind Rajab Foundation, named in memory of the slain child, announced it has filed formal war crimes complaints with the International Criminal Court (ICC) and several national jurisdictions, including in Belgium, Argentina, and South Africa.
Founded in March 2024 by Palestinian and international human rights advocates, the Hind Rajab Foundation’s aims to pursue legal action against those responsible for violence against Palestinians, raising cases against perpetrators in both international and national courts.
According to the investigation, these officers ordered tank fire on the civilian vehicle sheltering Rajab and her family in Gaza City’s Tal al Hawa neighbourhood.
Rajab and her family had attempted to flee to a “designated safe zone” during Israel’s genocide on Gaza end of January 2024.
A report by UK-based research agency Forensic Architecture later revealed that an Israeli tank fired 355 rounds of bullets at the vehicle from a close range.
Rajab was the only known survivor in the car after Israeli forces opened fire, killing her family members. She was trapped in the vehicle for hours and was able to communicate with emergency responders, pleading for help.
However, a Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance dispatched to rescue her was also shelled, killing the medics.
Days later, the five-year-old’s body was found alongside others, all killed by direct tank fire on January 29, 2024.
