(NewsNation) — Students at Columbia University have taken over a campus building as part of a pro-Palestine protest, hanging a sign out the window renaming the building “Hind Hall.”
The name is in honor of 5-year-old (some reports say 6-year-old) Hind Rajab, who was killed in the Gaza Strip and whose call for help gained international attention.
Who is Hind Rajab?
The Rajab family lived in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood in Gaza City. The family fled the city on Jan. 29, 2024, after the Israeli Defense Forces began broadcasting a message on social media advising people to evacuate the western portion of the city.
Rajab was loaded into a car with her aunt, uncle and four cousins, and the family began to drive north to another part of the city where the family home was located. But less than 3/4 of a mile away, the car stopped.
Rajab’s 15-year-old cousin, Layan Hamadeh, called the Palestine Red Crescent Society for emergency help, telling them the car was being shot at and that she and Rajab were the only two left alive. She said Israeli tanks were shooting at the vehicle.
The call cut off as Hamadeh was heard screaming along with the sound of gunfire. Dispatchers called back, and Rajab picked up the phone. She would stay on the line for three hours, telling dispatchers she was scared and afraid of the dark while asking them to come get her.
An attempted rescue
While dispatchers told Rajab to hide in the car, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society worked with the Gaza Health Ministry, which is run by Hamas as the governing authority of Gaza, and the IDF to get safe passage for an ambulance to reach her.
Two paramedics, Yusuf al-Zeino and Ahmed al-Madhoun, were on their way to the car when they reported being targeted by Israeli weapons. Dispatchers lost connection with the ambulance after hearing the sounds of an explosion or gunfire.
It would be 12 days before the rest of the Rajab family was able to locate the car. Rajab, along with the rest of the family in the car, were all dead, as were the two paramedics. The family’s car was riddled with bullet holes, and the ambulance was described as being completely destroyed, an image shared by the PRCS on social media showing what was left.
What happened to Hind Rajab?
The IDF denied involvement, saying their forces were not present in the area and that the ambulance hadn’t needed to secure permission to reach the car.
However, investigations by Al Jazeera and the Washington Post showed satellite images indicating Israeli armored vehicles were in the area.
Experts working with the Washington Post also examined multiple recordings, satellite images and other photos from the aftermath and concluded the sounds of gunfire heard by dispatchers and the damage done to the ambulance were consistent with weapons used by the IDF. The ambulance was also found on a route that was generally used to secure safe passage for rescuers.
One fragment, found not far from the car, belonged to a U.S.-made 120 mm round, though it wasn’t clear if that round came from the fighting heard on the call or another time.
Because of the time it took to reach the family, the cause of Rajab’s death wasn’t clear. She and her relatives were buried at the Al-Shifa hospital, where many of Gaza’s dead have been laid to rest because their families cannot safely bury them at cemeteries.