Inside a car riddled with bullets in Gaza City, a 6 year old girl pleaded for someone to come save her. The first ambulance sent to help never made it. Twelve days later, Hind Rajab, five of her relatives, and the two medics who tried to reach her were all found dead.
Her heartbreaking story, and the haunting audio of her voice during that desperate call, has shaken people across the globe. It has sparked songs, fueled protests, and now inspired a film by Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania.
Titled “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” the movie premiered Wednesday at the Venice Film Festival. Shot entirely inside the Palestine Red Crescent Society’s dispatch center, the film uses the actual audio of Hind’s call, with actors portraying the rescue workers who tried to help her.
“When you hear her voice, you feel powerless,” Ben Hania told The Associated Press.
Hind’s cousin, Layan, who was also in the car, had told relatives that Israeli troops were shooting at them before she was killed. The Red Crescent later said its ambulance came under fire from Israeli forces. The Israeli military responded only that the incident is “still being reviewed.”
For Ben Hania, listening to Hind’s fragile voice, which spread across social media in the days before her fate was known, left her no choice but to act. She said she felt compelled to honor the little girl and the innocence that was silenced too soon.
