Perpetrator of Hind Rajab’s martyrdom referred to The Hague

The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) announced that it has filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, accusing the Zionist soldier responsible for Hind’s martyrdom of war crimes. The complaint was submitted on what would have been the seventh anniversary of the Palestinian girl’s birth.

The foundation stated that the complaint was filed after a year of investigation, during which the military unit and the commander responsible for the brutal crime that led to the martyrdom of Hind, her family members, and two medics who attempted to help her were identified.

Binyamin Aharon has been named as the commander responsible for Hind’s martyrdom. At the time of the incident, he was in charge of the 401st Armored Brigade of the Israeli army.

Under his command, an Israeli tank unit targeted the vehicle carrying Hind’s family and subsequently fired on a Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance dispatched to provide assistance.

The foundation also identified the battalion that was operating in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood on January 29, 2024, under Aharon’s command, along with its field commanders and operational officers. These individuals have now been publicly identified and will no longer remain anonymous.

While the Hind Rajab Foundation is calling on the ICC Prosecutor’s Office to issue an arrest warrant for Aharon, it is also preparing additional legal actions against other officers of this battalion.

The foundation aims to hold all those involved accountable, including those who issued the orders, those who carried them out, and those who facilitated the cover-up.

Who Was Hind Rajab?

On the morning of January 29, 2024, Hind Rajab, along with her aunt, uncle, and several cousins, got into a vehicle with the intention of leaving the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood in Gaza City.

Israeli forces fired on their vehicle, killing all the occupants except Hind and her 15-year-old cousin, Layan.

In a panicked call to the Palestinian Red Crescent, Layan reported that a tank was firing at their vehicle; Hind’s terrified screams can be heard in the recorded audio.

When the Red Crescent called back, Hind answered, saying she was the only survivor among her family. She also mentioned the tank and pleaded for rescue. After multiple calls to obtain permission to enter the area, paramedics arrived around 6:00 p.m. but found nothing.

Two weeks later, the mutilated bodies of Hind and her family were discovered.

The findings of an investigation by the Forensic Architecture committee, based at Goldsmiths, University of London, were published months later. Investigators identified 335 bullet holes in the vehicle carrying Hind and her relatives. Analysis of Layan’s phone call revealed that 64 bullets were fired in just six seconds, consistent with Israeli weaponry. The tank, positioned between 13 and 23 meters from the vehicle, carried out the attack.

The investigators’ report stated: “At such close range, it is impossible that the shooter could not have seen that the vehicle’s occupants were civilians, including children.”