Gaza - Saba:
The Hind Rajab Human Rights Foundation has filed an official complaint with the International Criminal Court in The Hague, accusing an Israeli army commander of committing a war crime that led to the death of Palestinian girl Hind Rajab and six members of her family during an Israeli airstrike that targeted them in Gaza City.
The foundation bears the name of the five-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed by the Israeli army along with six of her relatives when they were sheltering in a car southwest of Gaza City on January 29, 2024.
In a statement issued last night, the foundation said, "Today, Hind Rajab was supposed to celebrate her seventh birthday. On this day of grief, the Hind Rajab Foundation has filed a war crimes complaint with the International Criminal Court in The Hague."
It added, "After a year of diligent investigation, we have identified the responsible military unit and the commander who led the operation that claimed the lives of Hind, her family, and the paramedics who attempted to rescue her."
The foundation announced the identity and rank of the commander responsible for Hind's death, identifying him as "Lieutenant Colonel Benny Aharon, commander of the 401st Armored Brigade in the Israeli army."
It explained that "Under Lieutenant Colonel Aharon's command, an Israeli tank unit attacked a civilian car belonging to Hind's family and later destroyed the Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance sent to rescue her."
The organization stated that it had identified the entire battalion operating under Aharon's command in the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood on January 29, 2024, as well as its field commanders and operations officers.
The organization stated, "These (Israeli soldiers) are no longer unknown, and silence no longer protects them." The organization called on the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant for Aharon.
It indicated that it is preparing additional legal complaints against the battalion's officers to be filed before competent national courts under the principles of universal jurisdiction.
It clarified that its filing of the complaint "is not an act of revenge, but rather a legal act supported by the evidence, law, and humanity that Hind was denied."
The organization stated that it had "gathered, over the course of a year of work, what the courts need to act," and called on the courts to "act courageously and swiftly."
The Hind Rajab Foundation was established in February 2024 and is headquartered in Brussels. It is active in pursuing Israeli officials and military personnel implicated in war crimes through lawsuits around the world.
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