One of the most shocking moments of Israel’s genocide in Gaza so far was its murder of five-year-old Hind Rajab in January 2024. And a new film capturing her horrific story has just won second prize at the Venice Film Festival, following an unprecedented 23-minute standing ovation at its premiere. This importantly keeps Hind’s fatal ordeal in the spotlight. But it means nothing unless the world stops Israel from killing even more children in Gaza. The spotlight must become action.
Hind Rajab’s mother: “save the other children of Gaza”
As the film’s success dominated headlines, Hind’s own mother was among the hundreds of thousands of people under brutal Israeli bombardment in Gaza City. She gave what she suspected could be a “last cry for help” amid this “living hell”, saying:
I am begging every influential person, every celebrity, every connection to save me… Tanks have surrounded our neighborhood. We must leave, but we have nowhere to go… I want to live. I want to protect my family. Please save us.
Kaouther Ben Hania, the Tunisian filmmaker behind The Voice of Hind Rajab, said she had immediately reached out to Hind’s mother, Wissam Hamada, after hearing “excerpts from Rajab’s calls for help”. She also contacted rescue workers including the Palestine Red Crescent Society. She explained how: “I listened, I cried, I wrote”. Western celebrities, such as children’s content creator Ms. Rachel, have also spoken to Hamada. But that hasn’t changed her fate or that of the people around her.
Hamada has said her daughter’s murder “is just one case among thousands”, adding:
I hope this film will help stop this destructive war and save the other children of Gaza,
Up to this point, she lamented:
The whole world has left us to die, to go hungry, to live in fear and to be forcibly displaced without doing anything.
Her voice is the voice of Gaza
After receiving her award, Ben Hania stressed that:
The voice of Hind is the voice of Gaza itself. A cry for rescue the entire world could hear, yet no one answered.
She added:
It is tragically the story of an entire people enduring genocide
She also shared some words from Hamada, who insisted:
there are many children still waiting for hope.
Ben Hania pleaded with the world to finally step up and act:
this story is not only about memory, it is about urgency. Hind’s mother, Wessam, and her little brother, Iyad, are still in Gaza. Their lives remain in danger, as do the lives of countless mothers, fathers and children who wake up every day under the same sky of fear, hunger, and bombardment. I urge the leaders of the world to save them.
The film industry has long faced accusations of silencing Palestinian stories, punishing workers who speak out, or merely offering supportive lip service to the people suffering. But right now, the industry has a new opportunity to truly honour Hind’s memory. It can and must use its wealth, platforms, and influence to challenge governments – particularly in the US, where the government has very much been a co-participant in Israel’s genocide. Real solidarity means action. It means using any privilege you may have to resist.
Hind’s voice – along with the silenced voices of many thousands of Palestinian children – doesn’t just ask us to remember. It demands action.
Featured image via the Canary
