‘The Voice of Hind Rajab’ Shakes Venice with Cry against Israeli Crimes
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The haunting final pleas of five-year-old Hind Rajab, trapped under Zionist fire in Gaza, have been immortalized in The Voice of Hind Rajab — a searing film that shook the Venice Film Festival with thunderous condemnation of Israel’s atrocities.
Hind’s desperate calls, pleading for rescue as she sat surrounded by the bodies of her aunt, uncle, and three cousins, form the core of the true-life drama. The Palestinian Red Crescent dispatchers, who stayed on the line for hours trying to comfort the terrified child, became both witnesses and victims of the crime.
"I'm so scared, please come," Hind is heard saying, her original voice recordings piercing the silence of the theater.
“Hind's story carries the weight of an entire people,” actress Saja Kilani said, reading a statement on behalf of the cast and crew. “The real question is, how have we let a child beg for life? No-one can live in peace while even one child is forced to plead for survival. Let Hind Rajab's voice echo around the world.”
Though the Red Crescent received belated clearance from the Israeli military to dispatch an ambulance, contact with Hind and the medics was cut soon after arrival. Days later, the child’s lifeless body was found alongside her relatives. The remains of the two ambulance workers were also recovered, their vehicle obliterated by Israeli strikes.
The Israeli occupation army initially denied responsibility, claiming its forces had not been in range. Independent investigations and a UN report later exposed the lie, confirming that the Israeli forces destroyed the car and murdered the medics who tried to save her.
The film’s premiere brought the longest ovation of the festival — 24 minutes of applause, with the audience erupting in chants of “Free Palestine.” Hollywood figures including Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara, and Brad Pitt backed the project, amplifying its global reach.
Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania said Hind’s voice was more than a single tragedy: “When I heard Hind, it was the voice of Gaza itself asking for help. It was anger and helplessness that gave birth to the movie.”
Since October 7, when the Zionist regime launched its invasion of Gaza, more than 63,000 Palestinians — overwhelmingly civilians — have been massacred, according to Gaza health authorities.
“The narrative around the world is that those dying in Gaza are collateral damage. This is dehumanizing. That’s why cinema and art are important: to give those people a voice and a face. We are saying enough, enough of this genocide,” Ben Hania said.
The International Association of Genocide Scholars this week declared that Israel meets the legal definition of genocide in Gaza.
For the actors who played the Red Crescent operators, the emotional weight was unbearable. Palestinian actor Motaz Malhees said: “There were two times where I couldn't keep filming. I had a panic attack.”
The Voice of Hind Rajab now stands not just as cinema, but as testimony — the cry of a martyred child exposing the brutality of Israel before the world.
