Questions are being raised about the well-being of 6-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab, who was trapped in a car with dead relatives during an Israeli fire incident in Gaza over a week ago. The location of two ambulance staff members from the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), sent to locate her on January 29, is also unknown.
Hind was travelling in a car with her uncle, his wife and their four children, fleeing fighting in northern Gaza, when they came under Israeli fire.
"We need to know what has happened to Hind and the PRCS ambulance team," the Palestinian Red Crescent said in their latest statement on X on Tuesday.
"So many wonderful things can happen in a week, but for those waiting for news or information a week is anguish. Each moment is marked by worry and sadness."
"I'm so scared. Please come," Hind Rajab is heard saying in a recording of a phone call to ambulance coordinators, which was released by the Palestinian Red Crescent. In the audio file, along with the little girl's voice, sounds resembling gunfire can be heard in the background, CBS reported.
Response coordinator Ranah Al Faqeh said in a video posted online by the Palestinian Red Crescent that Rajab stayed in communication over the phone with them for three hours, repeating her pleas to be rescued and saying she was afraid of the dark as night fell.
"This is one of the cases that we dealt with that was painful because everyone knows what it means to be a 6-year-old girl in such a place, in such an environment," Al Faqeh said.
The Palestinian Red Crescent, the local arm of the International Red Cross, became aware of the situation on January 29 when reports surfaced about a vehicle surrounded by Israeli forces near a gas station in Gaza City. Aid workers from the Red Crescent called contact numbers they'd been given for people believed to have been caught up in the violence and a teenage girl answered. Unfortunately, during the conversation, gunfire and screams were heard, leading to a loss of contact with her, as explained by the charity's Central Operations Officer Omar Al Qam in an online video.
"I found myself in a situation where she was begging for help and I couldn't do anything," he said.
Although the older girl disappeared, the phone line remained open and 6-year-old Hind continued pleading for help. A Red Crescent psychological support worker stayed on with her until her exact location could be figured out and an ambulance team was dispatched.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said it lost contact with its ambulance team, as well as Hind.
"Where is Hind? Where are Yousef and Ahmed? Are they still alive? We want to know their fate. The fate of our colleagues Youssef Zeino and Ahmed Al-Madhoon from the PRCS EMS team who went to rescue 6-year-old Hind remains unknown for 8 days," the Red Crescent said in a social media post on Tuesday, including photos of its staff and Hind.
On Saturday, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates (PMOFA) said it holds the Israeli government "fully and directly responsible" for the lives of Hind, and the two paramedics, Zieno and Almadhoun, who went to rescue her, CNN reported.
"Their fate remains unknown," the foreign ministry said.
