Medics who went to rescue trapped girl in Gaza go missing

Credit: Palestinian Red Crescent Society

Two Gaza medics and the trapped six-year-old they went to rescue remain missing a week after the vehicle the girl and her family were travelling in was caught in fighting as they tried to flee.

Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) workers, named by the organisation as Youssef Zeino and Ahmed Al-Madhoon, had gone to rescue Hind Rajab, who in a phone call to the PRCS pleaded: "I'm so scared, please come".

Hind was in the car, which was part of a convoy, with her uncle, his wife and their four children, trying to flee fighting in northern Gaza. She is believed to be the only survivor after the vehicle appeared to be caught in gunfire on January 29.

The PRCS said it lost contact with the rescue team on January 30.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) told CNN it was "unfamiliar with the incident described".

The Palestinian Red Cross Society released photos of the two medics sent to rescue Hind, Ahmed al Madhoun and Yousef Zeino. Credit: Palestinian Red Cross Society

The horror from within the car was captured in an audio clip released by the PRCS.

In the clip, Hind's cousin, 15-year-old Layan Hamadeh, is heard speaking to a PRCS paramedic, crying for help, CNN reports.

“They are shooting at us. The tank ... right next to me. We’re in the car, the tank is right next to us,” Layan screams, amid intense gunfire in the background. Layan then goes quiet, after the rounds of fire stop.

The paramedic tries to speak to her, but after hearing no response, hangs up. The PRCS believe everybody in the car apart from Hind were killed.

The PRCS was on the phone to Hind as they tried to reach the car, which was in an area under heavy Israeli bombardment. The team then eventually lost contact with Hind and the two team members.

Wissam Hamada has been standing outside a hospital hoping her daughter will arrive "at any minute." Credit: CNN

In an interview with CNN, Hind's mother, Wissam Hamada, said she had brought all of her daughter's belongings to the hospital and was "expecting her to come at any minute".

"My daughter is really a very innocent child, and a very young child to stay for five days in the cold... She is a little girl, her only dream is to be a doctor and treat people, I hope God will be her healer on his own behalf," Ms Hamada said.

"Every time I hear the sound of an ambulance, I go to the door and think my daughter is coming. Every time I hear the sound of any strike, any shell, or a bullet my heart hurts because I think of this bullet being so close to my daughter. Any hit, I feel its coming to my daughter," she told CNN.

War crime accusations

Israel's treatment of civilians in Gaza has come under heavy scrutiny since the onset of the Isreal-Hamas conflict on October 7.

Most recently a senior commander in the Israel Defence Force (IDF) said: "There are mistakes, it is war. This is not a machine working, these are people" in response to the killing of a man holding a white flag.

The IDF initially dismissed the video, which was broadcast on January 23, claiming the footage "is clearly edited and we have no way to comment".

The footage clearly showed a group of men cautiously walking towards IDF forces holding a white flag, when one person in the group is then shot.

The incident caused international outrage and accusations that Israel had committed a war crime.


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