Calls for answers more than a week after rescuers went missing trying to save trapped 6-year-old girl
Demands for answers are mounting over the fate of a 6-year-old Palestinian girl, Hind Rajab, who was trapped in a car with her dead relatives after it came under Israeli fire in Gaza more than a week ago. Mystery also surrounds the whereabouts of two ambulance staff from the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), who were dispatched to find her on January 29.
“We need to know what has happened to Hind and the PRCS ambulance team,” the society said in their latest statement on X early Tuesday. “So many wonderful things can happen in a week, but for those waiting for news or for information a week is anguish. Each moment is marked by worry and sadness.”
CNN gave the Israeli military details about the incident last Friday, including coordinates provided by the PRCS. In response, the Israel Defense Forces said it was “unfamiliar with the incident described.”
Hind was traveling in a car with her uncle, his wife and their four children, fleeing fighting in northern Gaza, when they came under Israeli fire, according to the PRCS. Hind’s cousin, 15-year-old Layan Hamadeh, made a harrowing call for help to emergency services that was recorded by the PRCS and shared on social media. In the clip, the teenager can be heard speaking to a paramedic, crying for help and describing a tank close by.
“They are shooting at us. The tank is right next to me. We’re in the car, the tank is right next to us,” Layan screams, as intense gunfire is heard in the background. Layan then goes quiet, and the rounds of fire stop. The paramedic on the phone tries to speak to her, repeatedly saying, “Hello? Hello?” but there is no response. The PRCS believe that the six other people in the car with Hind, including Layan, were killed when the car was shot at.
Finally a boycott
Japanese trading giant Itochu to cut ties with Israeli defense firm over Gaza war
One of Japan’s biggest trading firms, Itochu, has decided to end its partnership with a major Israeli defense company due to the war in Gaza. The sprawling conglomerate, best known outside Japan for its Family Mart chain of convenience stores, said its aviation unit will cut ties with Elbit Systems, which bills itself as Israel’s largest defense contractor, by the end of February.
The decision was made following a January ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) — the top court of the United Nations — and guidance given by Japan’s Foreign Ministry to observe the court’s findings in “good faith,” a spokesperson for Itochu told CNN on Tuesday. Last month, the ICJ ordered Israel to prevent genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, but stopped short of calling for Israel to suspend its military campaign in the war-torn enclave, as South Africa, which had filed the case to the court, had requested.
Coalition of Palestinian militant groups says senior commander killed in Israeli airstrike
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades has announced that a senior commander was killed, along with 13 of his family members, in an Israeli airstrike on a property in Deir al-Balah over the weekend. Issam Khattab “Abu Mazen” was killed at his family's home, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a coalition of Palestinian militant groups. It described him as “one of the most prominent leaders of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.”
On Sunday, CNN reported that at least 14 Palestinians were killed, including two children and four women, and many others injured due to airstrikes in Deir al-Balah, citing a doctor at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.
Houthis say they will increase attacks on US and UK ships in the Red Sea if the war in Gaza does not stop
Iran-backed Houthi militias in Yemen have vowed to increase their attacks on US and UK ships in the Red Sea if the war in Gaza does not stop.
The Houthis started targeting ships in the Red Sea in November 2023, and have warned they "will carry out more military operations against all hostile American-British targets," in the Red Sea "within the right to respond to the aggression, and the right to defend our beloved Yemen and its people," Houthi military spokesperson, Yahya Sare'e said in a statement on Tuesday.
He said Houthi forces "emphasize the continuation of their military operations" in the Red Sea "against Israeli shipping or those heading to the ports of occupied Palestine until the siege is lifted and the aggression against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is stopped."
