The film is based on the true story of Hind Rajab, who was trapped in her family car after it came under Israeli army fire in Gaza City in 2024 and was found dead after nearly two weeks of uncertainty.
The Voice of Hind Rajab, a film inspired by the final moments of a five-year-old Palestinian girl killed in Israeli fire in Gaza, has been nominated for an Academy Award in the Best International Feature Film category.
Directed by Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania, the film is based on the true story of Hind Rajab, who was trapped in her family car on January 29, 2024, after it came under Israeli army fire in Gaza City and was found dead after nearly two weeks of uncertainty.
Kaouther Ben Hania hopes the Oscar nomination for her film “The Voice of Hind Rajab” calls attention to children still suffering in Gaza.#TheVoiceofHindRajab #KaoutherBenHania #Oscars pic.twitter.com/U4H3yGuCd1
— AP Entertainment (@APEntertainment) January 22, 2026
Welcoming the nomination, Ben Hania said in an interview with AP Entertainment that it was, in a sense, the “spotlight that The Voice of Hind Rajab needs.”
“So I’m very grateful to the member(s) of the Academy who voted for this movie because they recognized that cinema is not always an escape. It can be confrontational. It can be something about truth and about what is happening and something that we should not look away from,” she stated.
The director noted that “what happened in Gaza is beyond our imagination,” adding that by telling the story of Hind, it should be remembered that there are still children struggling in Gaza.
Hundreds of Bullets
Hind was traveling with her family, including a 15-year-old cousin, Layan Hamadeh, fleeing fighting in northern Gaza, when they came under fire from Israeli occupation forces, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS).
The film centers on the real audio recording of Hind’s final phone call to the PRCS, in which she pleaded for help.
I didn’t want to cry today
The Voice of Hind Rajab – Official Trailer pic.twitter.com/pYV7re9LVT
— Abier (@abierkhatib) December 27, 2025
The recording, widely shared on social media after her death, sparked international outrage and renewed calls for justice. Two paramedics who attempted to reach her were also killed when their ambulance was hit.
The Israeli army denied responsibility for the deaths. However, an investigation by the London-based research group Forensic Architecture later concluded that hundreds of bullets struck Hind Rajab’s car, and an Israeli tank was placed at close range to the car.
International Acclaim
The film premiered in September 2025 at the Venice International Film Festival, drawing wide international attention.
THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB, a film by Kaouther Benhania.
On January 29, 2024, Palestinian Red Crescent volunteers received an emergency call from a six-year-old girl trapped in a car under fire in Gaza, pleading for rescue. Her name was Hind Rajab. pic.twitter.com/ED5Ol9nWBj
— Watermelon Pictures (@watermelon_pics) January 20, 2026
Despite a US-brokered ceasefire that came into effect in October last year following its two-year genocidal assault, Israel has killed 466 Palestinians and injured over 1,294 others.
Rising Death Toll
The total death toll since Israel launched its genocidal assault on Gaza in October 2023 has risen to more than 71,551, with over 171,300 injured, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry figures.
The vast majority of the population has been displaced, and the destruction of infrastructure is unprecedented since World War II. Thousands of people are still missing.
In addition to the military assault, the Israeli blockade has caused a man-made famine, leading to the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians—mostly children—with hundreds of thousands more at risk.
Despite widespread international condemnation, little has been done to hold Israel accountable. The nation is currently under investigation for genocide by the International Court of Justice, while accused war criminals, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, are officially wanted by the International Criminal Court.
(PC, Anadolu)
there was also the case of a pre-teen girl in Gaza who lost both legs and had to undergo a double above-the-knee amputation. she showed heroic resilience despite everything, even contemplating that one day she would have prosthetic surgery and lead a ‘normal’ life. transferred to a different hospital in Gaza she finally lost her life when an IAF bomb fell on the hospital, went through the ceiling and without detonating crushed her to death in her hospital bed. I think Al Jazeera probably have video and sound on that tragic story. What Israel is doing in Gaza, to the approval of an incresing majority of the population, is pure evil. They have lost their soul.