The Killing of Hind Rajab and the PRCS Rescue Crew
The Killing of Hind Rajab and the PRCS Rescue Crew
Tal al-Hawa, Gaza City · 29 June 2024
Evidence Package Completed 4th June 2024
Content Warning
This page documents the killing of children, civilians and medical personnel. It contains recordings of people in distress and graphic photographs and videos.
Viewer discretion is strongly advised
“The Commission investigated the 29 January attack in Tall al-Hawa on a
Palestinian family and a Palestine Red Crescent Society ambulance that had been called to their aid. The family consisted of two adults and five children, including 15 - year-old Leyan Hamada and 5-year-old Hind Rajab. They were attacked while trying to evacuate in their car. The ambulance, carrying two paramedics, Yousef Zeino and
Ahmed al-Madhoun, was dispatched after its route had been coordinated with Israeli security forces. It was hit by a tank shell at a distance of some 50 m from the family’s car. Hind was still alive at the time that the ambulance was dispatched. The presence of Israeli security forces in the area prevented access. As a result, the family members’ bodies could not be retrieved from their bullet-ridden car until 12 days after the incident. The ambulance was found destroyed nearby, with human remains inside. ”
PUBLIC EVIDENCE SUMMARY
The Killing of Hind Rajab and the PRCS Rescue Crew
Sarkha Project has meticulously gathered and submitted a comprehensive body of open source evidence, including videos, photographs, investigative forensic reports, and witness statements. This documentation provides a detailed timeline and precise geographical context surrounding the tragic deaths of Hind Rajab and her family members, as well as PRCS paramedics Yusuf Al Zeino and Ahmed Al Madhoun. The evidence clearly illustrates that Israeli soldiers bear responsibility for these fatalities.
This public summary presents the scope and principal findings of Sarkha Project’s investigation into the killing of six-year-old Hind Rajab, members of her family and Palestinian Red Crescent Society paramedics Yusuf Al Zeino and Ahmed Al Madhoun.
The incident has been analyzed using OSINT methodologies, including timeline reconstruction, geolocation, and cross-referencing of multiple independent sources. These methods allow for the verification of key details, including the location of the vehicle, the sequence of events, and the context in which the incident occurred. This analysis is based on verified Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT), including publicly available recordings, imagery, and witness documentation.
Findings are based on verified Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) and assessed against established international legal standards, including the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
The underlying evidence package contains original source material, preserved media, translations, witness material, verification records and internal documentation. Certain records are withheld from the public page to protect living witnesses and the integrity of the evidence.
What Sarkha project Documented
The Hind Rajab case involves the killing of a Palestinian child ,her family and two PRCS paramedics in Gaza during ongoing IDF military operations. Verified Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) has been used to reconstruct the events surrounding the incident, including the sequence of communications, location data, and available visual evidence.
On 29 January 2024 Hind Rajab and her family were evacuating to southern Gaza in a black Kia car from Tel al Hawa, North Gaza as directed by the Israeli army.
Evacuation orders for Hind’s neighborhood Tel al Hawa north Gaza
Source: Avichay Adraee https://x.com/AvichayAdraee/status/1751870951396888837?s=20&itid=lk_inline_enhanced-template
After just beginning the journey, the car containing Hind Rajab, her uncle, aunt and four cousins (all children) was targeted by the Israeli army. The location of the incident appears the car was en route to Al Rashid Street, the designated safe route for evacuation. At some point the family car parked at the Fares Petroleum Company,Tel al-Hawa, Gaza City coordinates 31°30'49.3"N 34°26'12.9"E where IDF soldiers subsequently shot numerous bullets into the car from their army tank killing Hind’s aunt and uncle and three of Hind’s cousins. Hind and her family were just 1.6km and 7 minutes away from the Al Rashid street , the main road to get to the south Gaza.
Initially, Hind and her cousin Layan were the only survivors. Layan calls the Palestinian Red Crescent society (PRCS) to ask for help before the sound of further gunfire and screaming which ends the phone call. Hind then calls the PRCS, confirms she is the lone survivor, and asks for help and stays on the phone with them for around 3 hours. Both Layan and Hind identify that the Israeli military was responsible for the shooting their car and stated that the Israeli military was still present at the time of both calls. At an unknown time, Hind is killed either succumbing to her injuries or due to further Israeli gunfire.
Audio recording of the moment gunfire was directed at 15-year-old Layan Hamadeh while she was speaking on the phone with the Palestine Red Crescent team.
Original Post by PRCS https://www.instagram.com/reels/C2uJozTNWO2/
Two Red Crescent paramedics, Yusef Zeino and Ahmad Al Madhoun are sent to the scene on rescue mission to save Hind and arrive in a clearly marked PRCS ambulance license plate # 3-1074-55. Israel was notified of the PRCS dispatch. The ambulance was targeted by the IDF with a missile just a few meters away from Hind’s family car, resulting in the complete destruction of the ambulance and the death of Yusuf Zeino and Ahmed Al Madhoun. The missile appeared to have incinerated their remains. Palestinian journalists and members of civil defense did not know what happened to Hind and the paramedics until Israeli military withdrew from Tel al Hawa on 10 February 2024 12 days later.
After Israeli forces withdrew from Tal al-Hawa on 10 February, journalists reached the scene near the Fares petrol station. They documented Hind’s family car (black Kia) riddled with bullet holes. A short distance away, they found the destroyed and burned PRCS ambulance. Journalists also documented Israeli tank tracks near both vehicles and extensive destruction throughout the surrounding area.
Exterior view of the Hamada family’s vehicle
Original Post by Ismail Alghoul
Video of the destroyed ambulance and Hind’s family car riddled with bullet holes
Original Post by Ismail Alghoul https://t.me/ismail_gh2/91
sarkha project considers that three crimes which contravene the Geneva Conventions have occurred during this event:
1. The targeting of a civilian vehicle evacuating Gaza City for South Gaza resulting in 7 civilian deaths
2. After the initial round of firing, Layan and Hind were further subject to further Israeli gunfire which caused their deaths. Layan was a 15-year-old child Hind is a 6-year-old who self-reported that she was wounded and hungry prior to her killing. Israel not only neglected to arrange medical care for the wounded child but actively stopped care from arriving.
3. The missile fire which targeted and destroyed the PRCS ambulance and caused the deaths of paramedics Zeino and Al-Madhoun.
Under international humanitarian law, civilians are protected from direct attack. The circumstances of this case, when assessed against established legal standards, raises concerns regarding compliance with the principles of distinction and proportionality.
The analysis is based on publicly available materials, including audio recordings, video footage, geolocation data, and reporting from journalists and humanitarian organizations. All sources have been cross-referenced to establish consistency and reliability.
The Victims
Civilians in the Hamada family vehicle
Photo of Hind Rajab and her family members wrapped in burial shrouds
Photo by Ismail Alghoul https://t.me/ismail_gh2/102
1. Hind Rajab Hamada Age 6
2. Layan Hamadeh Age 15 (Hind’s cousin)
3. Raghad Bashar Hamadeh Age 13
4. Mohammad Bashar Hamada Age 11
5. Sarah Bashar Hamada Age 9
6. Bashar Hamada (Hind ’s uncle)
7. Bashar Hamada’s wife
PCRS Paramedics
8. Yusuf Al Zeino
9. Ahmed Al Madhoun
Timeline
-
Israeli evacuation instructions directed residents of Tal al-Hawa and other western Gaza City neighborhoods to move south through Al-Rashid Street.
The Hamada family was traveling through Tal al-Hawa when their vehicle came under fire.
-
Members of the Hamada family were killed when their black Kia came under sustained gunfire. Layan Hamadeh and Hind Rajab initially survived. Layan called her uncle Samir appox 1:00pm
-
During her emergency call, Layan reported that a tank was beside the vehicle at shooting at them. Then a sound of a barrage of an aoutmatic weapon fires bullets and Layan screams and the call drops.
Earshot, a nonprofit that investigates using audio evidence, reports that a recording of the call captures 62 gunshots over six seconds, heard as two distinct bursts.
https://www.earshot.ngo/investigations/the-killing-of-layan-hamada-and-hind-rajab
-
A Planet Labs satellite image taken about an hour later, at 3:31 p.m., shows at least four Israeli armored vehicles approximately 300 meters (about 985 feet) up the road from the girls.
https://forensic-architecture.org/investigation/the-killing-of-hind-rajab
-
After Qam’s call with Layan concluded, the PRCS operations room rang back at once and Hind picked up. She informed dispatcher Rana Faqih that Layan had been killed and that tanks were advancing toward the vehicle. Over the course of the call Hind mentioned the tanks at least five more times.
Hind subsequently communicated with PRCS personnel for more than three hours. She reported that she was injured, hungry, frightened and alone among the bodies of her relatives.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C2swmwdtrr8/
-
Fathi Abu Warda, who liaises between the Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah and COGAT, said COGAT provided a route map granting permission; he forwarded that map to PRCS dispatch via WhatsApp at 5:40 p.m., according to messages reviewed by reporters.
Al-Jazeera correspondent Ismail al-Ghoul said he was with paramedics Yousef Zeino and Ahmed al‑Madhoun at al-Ahli Hospital when they got the map and quickly set out to reach Hind, about two miles away via Beirut Street and al‑Majdal Street. Ghoul described the driving instructions as clear.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/interactive/2024/hind-rajab-israel-gaza-killing-timeline/
-
The ambulance had just entered al-Majdal Street with its lights flashing when Zeino warned of a green laser aimed at them. The dispatcher ordered them to proceed slowly. Moments later the call cut off. The vehicle was later located about 50 meters south of Hind’s family car and roughly 350 meters south of where military vehicles appeared in satellite images taken a little over two hours earlier.
-
PRCS published an update stating that it had maintained contact with Hind for more than three hours and had lost contact with the rescue crew after it reached the area.
-
PRCS reported that the ambulance crew had not returned and that contact had been lost approximately 18 hours earlier. PRCS said it did not know whether the crew had reached Hind.
Later that day, PRCS reported that the crew had been missing for 24 hours.
-
Local reporting documented violent clashes involving Israeli forces in Tal al-Hawa and the neighboring Al-Sabra area.
The continuing military activity prevented access to the location where Hind and the ambulance crew had disappeared.
-
Hind’s mother publicly described her final communications with Hind. She said Hind reported that she was wounded and hungry.
Hind and the ambulance crew remained missing.
-
PRCS reported that 95 hours had passed since paramedics Yusuf Al Zeino and Ahmed Al Madhoun departed to rescue Hind.
The organization publicly asked for information about the fate of Hind and the crew.
https://www.instagram.com/reels/C22X1bktFr9/
https://www.instagram.com/reels/C22SYgtsOG_/
On the same day, local sources reported continuing clashes and explosions in Tal al-Hawa.
-
Press and local sources reported:
Arrests of Palestinians from homes in Tal al-Hawa
Residents being forced toward Deir al-Balah
Continued clashes around Tal al-Hawa and Al-Sabra
The scene remained inaccessible.
-
Local sources reported Israeli aircraft striking Tal al-Hawa.
Hind and the ambulance crew had been missing for nearly a week.
-
Hind’s grandfather and mother made further public appeals for information and assistance.
Her mother said seven days had passed since she last spoke with Hind. The ambulance crew also remained missing.
-
Multiple reports documented prolonged clashes, bombardment and explosions in Tal al-Hawa.
12:25 p.m. https://t.me/QudsN/367324
5:54 p.m. https://t.me/Qudsn_Brk/38904
8:18 p.m. https://t.me/QudsN/367551
-
At approximately 12:37 a.m., reporting again documented violent clashes and explosions in Tal al-Hawa.
The location of Hind and the ambulance remained inaccessible.
-
At approximately 4:16 a.m., press sources reported an Israeli airstrike on Tal al-Hawa.
This is the final military-activity report before journalists reached and documented the scene.
-
Following reports of Israeli forces withdrawing from Tal al-Hawa, journalists and residents entered the area.
-
Family members discovered the body of six-year-old Hind Rajab in a heavily damaged car, with her grandfather reporting bullet wounds to her back, hand, and foot and the vehicle's dashboard destroyed, as detailed in the Al Jazeera news report. The report also documents the vehicle’s shattered windshield and the overall destruction at the scene near the Tel al-Hawa roundabout.
-
At approximately 8:57 a.m., reports announced that Hind and members of her family had been found dead inside the vehicle.
The Kia displayed extensive projectile damage.
https://t.me/Sa7atPlBreaking/79053
-
The destroyed PRCS ambulance was discovered near the family vehicle. The remains of paramedics Yusuf Al Zeino and Ahmed Al Madhoun were found inside.
Scene documentation showed the proximity of:
The family vehicle
The destroyed ambulance
Military-vehicle tracks
Positions from which Israeli forces had reportedly operated
-
At approximately 8:07 p.m., the IDF published an official update stating that Israeli forces had conducted a division-level operation in Shati and Tal al-Hawa over the preceding two weeks.
This update is important because it confirms Israeli military operations in Tal al-Hawa during the same period in which Hind and the rescue crew disappeared and remained inaccessible.
-
U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the United States was devastated by Hind’s killing and had asked Israeli authorities to investigate the incident urgently.
The United States said it expected a timely investigation and accountability measures where appropriate.
The spreadsheet records this through an article published on 13 February, but Miller made the statement during the preceding Monday briefing, 12 February 2024.
-
The State Department said it understood that Israeli investigations into Hind’s killing were underway but provided no findings or timetable.
-
The IDF announced that its preliminary investigation had found that Israeli troops were not near the vehicle or within firing range when Hind and her relatives were killed.
The IDF also claimed that:
No Israeli forces were present in the area.
Individual coordination for the ambulance was therefore unnecessary.
The incident would be referred to the military’s General Staff Fact-Finding Assessment Mechanism for further examination.
The Israeli statement conflicts with:
Its 10 February operational update confirming activity in Tal al-Hawa
Satellite imagery later identifying Israeli armored vehicles near the scene
Audio evidence
Scene documentation
Tank tracks
Witness material
COGAT’s later confirmation that the ambulance route had been coordinated
-
The Washington Post published an investigation using satellite imagery, audio recordings, photographs, videos and interviews with weapons experts.
Its findings challenged the IDF’s claim that no Israeli forces were near the scene. The investigation reported that:
Israeli armored vehicles were visible approximately 300 meters from the family’s car.
The gunfire recorded during the emergency calls was consistent with weapons used by the Israeli military.
Damage to the ambulance was consistent with a tank round.
COGAT confirmed that the ambulance’s route had been coordinated.
-
Following publication of the Washington Post investigation, Matthew Miller described Hind’s killing as an “unspeakable tragedy” and said the United States would ask Israel for additional information.
He again called for a complete investigation but did not announce an independent U.S. investigation or accountability action. U.S. State Department briefing
After new evidence challenged Israel’s preliminary account, the U.S. State Department said it would seek additional information from Israel and again called for a complete investigation.
-
More than two months after requesting an urgent investigation, the State Department acknowledged that it had not seen credible steps regarding the investigation into the killing of Hind, her family and the paramedics sent to rescue her.
https://2021-2025.state.gov/briefings/department-press-briefing-april-24-2024/
-
The Hind Rajab Foundation filed a war-crimes complaint with the ICC after announcing that its investigation had identified the Israeli unit operating in Tal al-Hawa and Lieutenant Colonel Beni Aharon as the commander responsible for the operation. The Foundation requested an arrest warrant and announced that further complaints against officers were being prepared.
-
No completed Israeli investigation or public accountability finding is included in Sarkha Project’s evidence package. The available record shows an initial Israeli denial, repeated U.S. requests for Israel to investigate itself, and later independent findings that contradicted central elements of Israel’s preliminary account.
Principal Findings
01 — The family was evacuating
Sarkha preserved Israeli evacuation instructions directing residents of Tal al-Hawa and surrounding neighborhoods to move south through Al-Rashid Street.
The Hamada family’s route was consistent with those evacuation instructions.
02 — Israeli forces were operating in the area
The package contains military updates, reporting, satellite-based analysis and visual documentation placing Israeli military forces in and around the relevant area during the period surrounding the attack.
This evidence contradicts subsequent claims that Israeli forces were not present near the scene.
03 — The civilian vehicle came under sustained gunfire
Emergency-call recordings, witness accounts and later visual documentation establish that the family’s vehicle came under sustained fire.
Photographs and videos taken after access to the area was restored show extensive projectile damage to the vehicle.
04 — Hind and Layan survived the initial attack
Emergency calls preserved in the package establish that Hind Rajab and Layan Hamadeh were alive following the initial attack.
Both children described the presence of Israeli military vehicles and identified Israeli forces as responsible for the gunfire.
05 — A coordinated rescue was dispatched
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society dispatched an ambulance crew to rescue Hind.
The package contains witness statements and reporting indicating that the ambulance’s movement and destination were communicated as part of the coordination process.
06 — The ambulance was destroyed near Hind’s family car
The destroyed PRCS ambulance was found near the Hamada family’s vehicle.
The package contains photographs, videos, scene documentation and subsequent weapons analysis addressing the destruction of the ambulance and the munition believed to have been used.
07 — The evidence supports attribution to Israeli forces
The combined evidence includes:
Emergency-call recordings
Israeli military updates
Evacuation instructions
Witness statements
Geolocation information
Visual documentation of the scene
Military vehicle tracks
Satellite-image analysis
Weapons and munition analysis
PRCS statements
Independent investigative reporting
Taken together, these materials support Sarkha Project’s conclusion that Israeli forces were responsible for the attacks on the Hamada family’s vehicle and the PRCS ambulance.
Package Scope
The evidence package contains:
96 evidence records
29 forensic, visual or audio records
27 military updates
17 investigative, legal or news reports
10 witness statements
9 evacuation records
3 official statements
Additional contextual documentation
The material includes contextual records beginning in 2022 and incident-specific documentation extending through May 2024.
