Gaza Herald – The mother of five-year-old Hind Rajab, whose desperate emergency call from Gaza shocked the world in early 2024, said she remains determined to keep her daughter’s voice alive as a symbol of thousands of children killed during Israel’s genocide on the Gaza Strip.
Hind Rajab was killed on January 29, 2024, along with four cousins and other family members, after Israeli forces opened fire on their vehicle while they attempted to flee a neighborhood in Gaza City. Two Palestinian Red Crescent paramedics who tried to reach the trapped child were also killed when their ambulance was struck during the rescue attempt.
In the hours before her killing, Hind had remained on the phone with her mother, Wesam Hamada, begging for help while hiding in a car surrounded by Israeli soldiers and gunfire. Recordings of the call later circulated globally and became the foundation for the Oscar-nominated documentary film Hind Rajab’s Voice.
Speaking at an international conference organized by the European Palestinian Network in Copenhagen, Hamada recalled her daughter’s final moments. She said Hind had pleaded with her, frightened and alone, asking her mother not to hang up while waiting for an ambulance that never arrived.
Hamada said she did not blame ordinary people around the world but held global silence responsible for allowing such tragedies to continue. She described her daughter as a determined and compassionate child who dreamed of becoming a doctor to help injured children everywhere.
Human rights advocates say Hind’s story reflects a broader pattern of civilian suffering in Gaza, where more than 20,000 children have been killed during the war, according to Palestinian estimates cited by activists and humanitarian groups. Hamada said she continues to speak publicly because her daughter’s voice, she believes, represents the voices of all Gaza’s children who were silenced by the Israeli genocide.
