In Gaza, children are not just caught in the crossfire. They are targets. Civilians are not deemed worthy of life. Ambulances are not protected. And yet the world watches, indifferent and complicit.
Hind Rajab, a six-year-old Palestinian girl, was not the first, and tragically, she will not be the last child to die under the relentless cruelty of Israeli occupation. But her story must be remembered. In her voice, trembling and pleading for help, we hear the voice of an entire people crying out for justice.
They had been given permission by the Israeli military to flee south in a car from the north.That granted “permission” for exit, however, meant nothing. The car was struck by Israeli tank fire. Her uncle and aunt were killed on the spot. Her cousin, 15-year-old Layan Hamada, called the Palestinian Red Crescent Society in desperation. Her voice was recorded, terrified, whispering that Israeli tanks were beside them. Then came gunshots. Followed by devastating silence.
Layan was killed.
Hind, still alive, took the phone and pleaded for hours. Her mother stayed on the line, reciting verses of the Quran and trying to comfort her daughter. For three long hours, Hind cried, begging to be saved.
Two paramedics, Yousef Zaino and Ahmed Al Madhoun, responded despite knowing it might be a one-way trip. Unfortunately, they never made it back. Their ambulance, sent with Israeli clearance, was found days later torn apart. Hind’s small body was found near the car, lifeless and riddled with bullets.
This was not a tragedy. This was an obvious, blatant crime.
Do not call this a mistake. This is not a “collateral damage”. This was a calculated act. Hind’s life was used to lure her rescuers. When they arrived, they were killed. She was killed. This is an obvious and intentional murder.
The Israeli military executed a child, her cousin, and the very medics who risked everything to save her. These are war crimes under any definition of international law. Crimes that are happening again and again while the world remains silent.
Remember the names. Remember the truth.
When Hind died, the Western media said she was “found dead.” Not “shot.” Not “murdered.” Just simply “found.” Sanitized. Passive. Easy to forget.
But we must not forget.
We must remember how her voice shook. How she waited. How she trusted that someone would come.
We must remember the two paramedics who did not turn away. Who chose courage over safety. We must remember the pain of her mother, who had to sing her child to sleep one last time over a phone line.
And we must remember that this is not an isolated case. This is the reality of Gaza, a place where families sleep knowing that no roof, no building, no document marked safe passage can protect them from Israeli airstrikes or gunfire.
The world’s silence is complicity
If Hind had been Israeli and her killers Palestinian, the world would be in flames. Global leaders would issue bold condemnations, buildings would light up in blue and white, and every newsroom would cry for justice.
But sweet Hind was Palestinian.
And so, the world does not bat an eye. The memory of the tragedy becomes faded, forgotten as time passes.
Let us be the ones who do not forget and refuses silence. Let us be the ones who remember, not just Hind, but the thousands of innocent lives lost to occupation, displacement, and state-sanctioned terror.
Remember Palestine
To remember Hind is to remember Palestine. To remember the pain of a people pushed away from their homes, bombed in their beds, and blamed for their own deaths.
Every life lost in Gaza has a name, a face, a family. Every child had noble dreams. Every parent had hopes. Every home destroyed was filled with laughter once.
We cannot look away. We must tell these stories, repeat their names, and challenge the world that allows this injustice to continue.
You who are reading this, remember Hind. Speak her name. Tell her story. Refuse to let it be buried. Refuse to let her death be sanitized or ignored.
And when someone tells you it is complicated, remind them. A child crying for help should never be met with bullets.
Until justice is served, until Palestine is free, we must remember.
Always.
