Summary of complaint
We received complaints from readers who believe the article was biased and/or contained inaccuracies about how Hind Rajab died.
Our response
A number of readers contacted us suggesting that it was inaccurate and biased to say that Hind Rajab had been “found dead” and that the article should have used the word “murdered”.
However the article has fairly and accurately reported what we knew to that point, which is that Hind Rajab, several of her relatives and two paramedics were found dead “after they appear to have come under fire from Israeli tanks”.
The article goes on to explain that Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) had later reached the area, which had previously been closed off as an active combat zone, and found “the black Kia car Hind had been travelling in - its windscreen and dashboard smashed to pieces, bullet holes scattered across the side” and the remains of another vehicle which they say is the ambulance sent to fetch Hind.
We also make clear that they issued a statement which accused Israel of deliberately targeting the ambulance as soon as it arrived and that:
We twice asked the army for details on its operations in the area that day, and about the disappearance of Hind and the ambulance sent to retrieve her - it said it was checking. We have asked again for their response to the allegations made by the Palestinian Red Crescent on Saturday.
The complaints also suggest that the inclusion of a sentence explaining that “Israel has previously accused Hamas of using ambulances to transport its weapons and fighters” lacked context and “appears to justify the targeting of medical personnel by Israeli forces.”
However this is a background fact, which is relevant to the wider story, and was included on that basis.