Israeli military says it fired on ambulance carrying 5-year-old Hind Rajab, opens criminal probe

According to the military's announcement, soldiers first opened fire on a first ambulance that was driving toward casualties from an Israeli offensive. When that ambulance failed to return, additional emergency vehicles were dispatched to search for it, and troops fired on those vehicles as well, the military said.

What the military acknowledged

The account aligns with phone footage and with testimony from the sole survivor of the shootings, who described a sustained attack on a convoy of clearly marked medical vehicles. The Red Crescent, the Palestinian emergency service, has previously identified the convoy as its own.

Hind Rajab, who was 5 years old, had been traveling in one of the vehicles. Her death, along with that of family members and the medical crew of the first ambulance, became one of the most widely cited episodes of the conflict in Gaza and drew international condemnation when it first emerged.

The military's admission marks the first time Israel has officially acknowledged firing on the car carrying the child. Until Wednesday, Israeli officials had disputed or declined to confirm the sequence of events described by Palestinian medics and witnesses.

The investigation and what it covers

The newly announced criminal probe will examine the conduct of the soldiers involved and the chain of command decisions that led to the targeting of emergency vehicles. Israeli military procedure generally requires that medical vehicles displaying recognized insignia be protected, and the probe is expected to focus on whether those rules were followed.

The disclosure comes as international scrutiny of Israel's conduct in Gaza has intensified, with multiple governments and humanitarian organizations calling for independent investigations into strikes on civilian infrastructure. Human rights groups have pointed to the Hind Rajab case as emblematic of broader concerns about the protection of medical personnel and children.

The Red Crescent said it would cooperate with any investigation and repeated its demand for accountability. The organization has argued for months that the targeting of its vehicles was deliberate and has shared audio and video recordings it says proves the convoy was clearly marked as medical.

Calls for accountability and international scrutiny

Layan Hamada, a paramedic who has spoken publicly about the case, is among the Palestinian medics who have urged international investigators to examine the episode. The AP has also reported on the recordings that surfaced in the months after the shooting.

The military did not immediately name the unit involved or say how many soldiers would be questioned. It also did not say whether the probe would result in any public findings, or how long it was expected to take. Officials have previously said that internal investigations can take months or years to complete.

International legal experts said the case is likely to feature in any future examination of alleged violations of the laws of war in Gaza, particularly with respect to the protection of medical units and the principle of distinction between combatants and civilians. The criminal probe, they added, does not preclude later action by foreign courts.

Palestinian authorities in Gaza and human rights organizations have called for the release of all recordings, communications logs and operational orders related to the convoy. The Israeli military said only that the investigation would be conducted in accordance with military law and that findings would be reviewed by the appropriate authorities.