Kaouther Ben Hania Calls Israel's Probe Into Killing Of Hind Rajab 'A Smokescreen'

Kaouther Ben Hania, the director of last year’s Oscar-nominated docudrama The Voice of Hind Rajab — about the slaughter of a five-year-old Palestinian girl in Gaza by Israeli forces — is cynical about Israel's announced probe, branding it “a smokescreen.”

The IDF said of the killing of Hind: "Due to alleged failures in the co-ordination of the movement of the Palestine Red Crescent ambulance, it has been decided to initiate a criminal investigation of the incident by Military Police Criminal Investigation Division."

Israel's Killing Of Hind Rajab

During Israel’s offensive in response to an October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel which triggered the Gaza war, Hind Rajab was trapped in a car for hours, begging Palestinian medics by mobile phone to send help, while her aunt, uncle and three cousins lay dead beside her. When an ambulance arrived, contact with the girl and the rescuers themselves was lost. Twelve days later, the bodies of the girl, her relatives and two ambulance workers were recovered from the area.

In a statement shared on her Instagram page, Ben Hania — who wove the recording of Rajab’s call to the Red Cross in her film, which would go on to win numerous honors including the grand jury prize in Venice and nominations from both the BAFTAs and Oscars — pushed back against the investigation.

Kaouther Ben Hania's Statement On Israel's Investigation

“This announcement is a smokescreen. For more than two years, the evidence has been there: independent investigations, satellite imagery, ballistic analysis. And there was the most devastating evidence of all: Hind’s own voice, describing the Israeli tanks circling around her. What more did we need?” she wrote. “Did we really have to wait for the accused to decide to investigate itself (yes, itself!) before these facts could finally be taken seriously?”

Ben Hania added: “Meanwhile, the Israeli military continues to kill Palestinians in Gaza, while the occupation intensifies in the West Bank. What is needed now is not a public relations operation. What is needed is justice (delivered by an independent authority) for Hind and for all the victims of the genocide in Gaza.”

Now, the Israeli military has confirmed for the first time that it opened fire on the car carrying Rajab.