GENEVA: The death of Hind Rajab, a Palestinian girl whose final appeals for help moved public opinion worldwide, may constitute a war crime, UN experts said on Friday.
“The killing of five-year old Hind Rajab, her family and two paramedics may amount to a war crime,” the experts said in a press statement.
Israeli claims its troops were not in the area at the time were “unacceptable,” they added.
In a statement, the Israeli Embassy in Geneva said that its own army was investigating.
This undated handout photograph obtained courtesy of the family shows six-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab posing for a picture. (AP)
The UN experts said “the absence of proper investigation and accountability” five months after the facts “is deeply troubling and may in itself amount to a violation of the right to life.”
They also referred to “compelling evidence” on where the family’s car was in relation to an Israeli tank “and how it was shot at from very close range using a type of weapon that can only be attributed to the Israeli forces.”
“Audio recordings of calls between Hind and emergency services suggest that she was the only survivor in the car before she was also killed,” the experts added.
The UN experts, while mandated by the Human Rights Council, do not speak in its name.
The Gaza war was triggered by the Oct. 7 attack by militants on southern Israel.
Israel’s military retaliation to wipe out Hamas has killed at least 38,848 people, also mostly civilians, according to data from the Health Ministry in Gaza.
