Foundation identifies "Israeli" officer responsible for Hind Rajab's murder

The Hind Rajab Foundation has named the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) commander it holds responsible for the attack that killed the six-year-old girl, her family, and two medics in Gaza.

On what should have been her seventh birthday, the Hind Rajab Foundation has taken a bold step toward justice. In a statement issued on Saturday, the foundation announced that it has filed a formal war crimes complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, holding the Israeli Occupation accountable for the killing of Hind Rajab and others during an IOF operation in Gaza on Jan. 29, 2024.

After a year-long investigation, the foundation named Lieutenant Colonel Beni Aharon, then-commander of the 401st Armored Brigade of the IOF, as the man responsible for the attack. According to the complaint, an IOF tank unit under Lt. Col. Aharon's command fired on the civilian vehicle carrying Hind and her family in Gaza’s Tel al-Hawa neighborhood. Six family members died instantly. Hind, severely wounded but still alive, was heard whispering through a phone to Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) dispatchers, “I’m so scared… please come.”

An ambulance dispatched by PRCS was also struck and burned by "Israeli" fire. The two medics inside were killed on the spot. Hind’s body was discovered ten days later, alongside that of her cousin Layan.

“Today, Hind should have been blowing out candles. Instead, we are naming her killer,” said Dyab Abou Jahjah, a spokesperson for the foundation. “This is only the beginning. We are coming for every name, every link in the chain, with the law and with truth.”

The foundation says it has identified not only the brigade responsible, but also the battalion and its field commanders involved in the Tel al-Hawa operation. The group promises to pursue further legal action beyond the ICC, using universal jurisdiction to file additional complaints in national courts around the world.

“This complaint is not an act of revenge—it is a solemn legal act rooted in evidence, law, and the humanity Hind was denied,” the statement reads. The filing builds on months of work, incorporating findings from Forensic Architecture, Sky News, and other independent investigations.

The foundation emphasized that the case is backed by concrete evidence and is a call for urgent international accountability. It sees the filing as a turning point in the fight against impunity for war crimes in Gaza.

“Because she waited and we could not save her. Because we will not let her name be buried.”