Hind Rajab, six, was last heard from when she was surrounded by dead relatives and stuck in her family's car after it was shot in war-torn Gaza City. The Red Crescent said a response coordinator, Rana al-Faqeh, had spoken to Hind for more than three hours on Monday afternoon, trying to comfort her.
"Is it very close?"
"Very, very," the small voice replied. "Will you come and get me? I'm so scared."
There was nothing Rana could do but keep the conversation going.
After Ms. al-Faqeh spoke with Hind, the Red Crescent sent two rescuers in an ambulance to her vehicle in Gaza City, which was located near a petrol station.
The rescuers reported their arrival at approximately 6 p.m. on Monday, January 29. Then they lost communication and have not been heard from again.
That day, the Israeli army ordered civilians to vacate the west regions of the city and go south along the coast route. Little Hind's family decided to seek refuge at Ahli Hospital, located to the east of the city, but all six of her relatives with her in the car were killed by Israeli fire the same day.
Hind's mother told Al Jazeera that she tried to keep her daughter calm by reading Quranic passages and praying. But she had to hang up so the Red Crescent could contact Hind and find out where she was.
Her mother said one of the last things Hind said to her was, “Don’t leave me, mama. I’m hungry. I’m hurt.”
The Red Crescent said in a statement on Saturday evening, “118 hours have passed, and the fate of the PRCS ambulance team, Yousef Zeino and Ahmed al Madhoun, who went to rescue the 6-year-old girl, Hind, remains unknown.”
It was the latest in a series of urgent posts the aid organisation has made every day since the rescuers went missing, counting down the hours since their disappearance in an attempt to call attention to the plight of all three.
Gaza City has been devastated by fighting between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas since the war began over four months ago. Dead bodies decompose on the streets and under the bombed-out buildings.
Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed at least 27,478 civilians and injured 66,835 since October 7. The death toll in Israel from the October 7 Hamas attacks is 1,139.
