If you doubt what Israel is doing in Gaza, remember the little girl Hind

In an article published in the Guardian newspaper, British writer and journalist Owen Jones stressed the importance of recalling the details of Israel’s atrocities against the Palestinians so that its efforts and those of the news channels that support it do not succeed in diverting the world’s attention away from them, as Western media coverage supports Israel’s usual strategy for confronting accusations: deny, blame others, deceive, and then wait quietly until the world’s attention shifts to another topic. The writer said that if Hamas had committed a fraction of what Israel did on October 7, Western news channels would have repeated it without stopping to their audiences.

Jones described the coverage of Israel's "crimes" by the channels as "misleading," as they report events separately and isolate them from each other, and broadcast their news for a short period, which prevents viewers in the West from understanding the full picture and seeing Israel as it really is. According to the writer, a series of "atrocities" - including the killing of the child Hind Rajab and the assassination of the journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, in addition to causing the deaths of 40,000 Palestinians, including 14,000 children - shows the Israeli state for what it really is, which is that it is a "criminal state" that does not care about international laws. He wrote, "If you doubt the nature of the Israeli attack on Gaza, remember this little girl (Hind)."

The writer referred to the opinions of some who believe that the real number of people killed by Israel - taking into account those who remained under the rubble - ranges between 92,000 and 186,000 martyrs, and said that if a country not allied with the West was responsible for this, the global reactions would not have been limited to the consensus that the war is one of the "most heinous crimes of our time" only, but it would have been considered "immoral" to think otherwise.

"The evidence is abundant"

Jones added that the channels often treat the initial Israeli claims with credibility, unlike the skepticism and harsh criticism that meets the Russian claims, and this happened last November when Israel attacked Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, claiming that it was a "command center" for Hamas, and the coverage continued for more than a month until the Washington Post acknowledged the weakness of the evidence for this claim.

Israel followed its usual strategy with Hind, denying the news of the child’s death, and after the killing of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in May 2022, Israel denied responsibility, blaming the Palestinians, and then waited until global attention had subsided before admitting that it might have been responsible for Abu Akleh’s assassination, according to the report. Jones said that supporters and advocates of Israel should look at these facts and evaluate them, and use these seemingly isolated examples to illustrate the “brutal” nature of Israel’s actions in Gaza.

Jones mentioned the story of the child Hind as an example of the ethics of the Israeli army. When she and her relatives were fleeing from the north in her uncle’s car, the Israeli army forces opened fire on the family and killed everyone except the six-year-old child Hind. Then the forces killed those who were in the ambulance that came to rescue her, and Hind was martyred alone, surrounded by the bodies of her family.

Here is Jones gripping report on Hind:

If you are ever in doubt about the nature of Israel’s onslaught against Gaza, remember this little girl. Hind Rajab was a five-year-old Palestinian with an adorable smile. On the morning of 29 January, she got in a Kia Picanto along with her aunt, uncle and several cousins. They were seeking to flee the Tel al-Hawa neighbourhood of Gaza City. The Israeli military fired on the car, killing everyone inside except for Hind and her 15-year-old cousin, Layan. A terrified Layan answered a call from the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), informing them that a tank was firing on the car: in the recording, you hear her tortured screams as she is shot dead. When the PRCS rang back, Hind answered, now the only survivor, surrounded by the bloodied corpses of her six relatives. She also referred to a tank and begged to be rescued. At one point she told the operator it was getting dark and that she was scared.

After hours waiting for permission, the ministry of health negotiated safe access with the Israeli authorities for an ambulance. The paramedics arrived at about 6pm and were shot upon arrival. Two weeks later, their remains were recovered – along with the decomposed bodies of Hind and her family.