The Hind Rajab Foundation has rejected the Israeli army’s decision to open investigations into the killing of five-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab, six members of her family and two paramedics who were sent to rescue them in Gaza in January 2024.

The rights organization said it has no confidence in the Israeli military justice system and questioned whether the newly announced investigations would lead to genuine accountability.

The Israeli army’s decision followed its acknowledgment that its soldiers opened fire on the vehicle carrying Hind and her family in Gaza on Jan. 29, 2024.

Hind’s case drew international attention after an audio recording of her desperate phone call to the Palestine Red Crescent Society seeking help was made public. She was later found dead inside the vehicle along with six members of her family. Two paramedics dispatched to rescue her were also killed.

The Hind Rajab Foundation said its concerns also extend to the killing of 15 Palestinian paramedics and rescue workers by Israeli forces in Rafah on March 23, 2025.

The organization argued that even if the announced investigations are carried out, they should not be regarded as a credible step toward justice, citing what it described as decades of shortcomings in Israel’s internal investigations into alleged violations by its forces.

According to the foundation, Palestinian and international legal and human rights organizations have repeatedly documented cases in which Israeli military investigations ended without serious examination, criminal prosecutions or meaningful punishment.

The foundation said that even when Israeli soldiers have been convicted, punishments have frequently been limited or administrative in nature.

The organization cited the killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in May 2022 as an example of what it described as the shortcomings of Israel’s accountability mechanisms.

Israel acknowledged in September 2022 that there was a “high possibility” that Abu Akleh had been killed by Israeli fire. However, the military advocate general concluded that there was insufficient suspicion to warrant a criminal investigation by military police, and no criminal investigation was opened.

The Hind Rajab Foundation also questioned why Israel had announced the investigations into the two cases at this particular time.

“After two and a half years of genocide, why has Israel suddenly decided to open criminal investigations into these two cases specifically, among the countless crimes documented by international bodies, human rights and legal organizations, journalists and independent investigators?” the organization asked.

The foundation said Israel had previously claimed to have referred more than 1,000 incidents involving suspected misconduct by its forces in Gaza to its fact-finding and assessment mechanism and had opened 74 criminal investigations. However, it said Israel had not provided a comprehensive public account of the status or outcomes of those investigations.

The organization also referred to an independent review by Action on Armed Violence of 52 Israeli military investigations announced over alleged violations in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

According to the foundation, the review found that 88% of those investigations were either closed without establishing wrongdoing or remained under review without published findings, while only one investigation resulted in a prison sentence.

The foundation described the pattern as longstanding rather than a new development, arguing that previous announcements of internal investigations had repeatedly failed to deliver meaningful accountability for alleged crimes against Palestinians.

It characterized the latest investigations as potentially intended to create “an impression of accountability” amid growing international scrutiny.

The foundation said the announcement came against the backdrop of renewed international attention on Israel over the Gaza war, Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon and military operations in Syria.

It further said that in October 2025, following what it described as an extensive investigation, it identified the Israeli military unit, commanders and soldiers it believes were responsible for the deaths of Hind Rajab, her family members and the two paramedics sent to rescue her.

Established in February 2024 and headquartered in Brussels, the Hind Rajab Foundation pursues legal cases against Israeli officials and military personnel in countries around the world. (ILKHA)