Orlando, Fl – On April 4, over 25 students gathered at the University of Central Florida to participate in a vigil honoring Hind Rajab and the many other martyred children of Palestine.

Hind Rajab was a 6-year-old Palestinian girl who, along with her family of seven, was martyred by Israeli forces while trying to flee the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood in Gaza City. While coordinating with the Gaza Health Ministry and Israeli military to deliver emergency aid, the dispatchers with the Palestinian Red Crescent Society stayed on the phone with Hind for over three hours while she was trapped in the car with her martyred family, surrounded by Israeli tanks.

After gaining access to the area, a Palestinian Red Crescent Society ambulance containing two paramedics, Yusuf al-Zeino and Ahmed al-Madhoun, reported being targeted by lasers just before dispatchers were disconnected from both the paramedics and the young Hind Rajab.

For 12 days, the status of Hind Rajab and the two Palestinian Red Crescent Society paramedics was unknown until Israeli forces withdrew from the area on February 10. Hind and her relatives were discovered by her family in the car they used to flee Gaza. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society ambulance containing Yusuf al-Zeino and Ahmed al-Madhoun was found just a few feet away, completely destroyed by a U.S. M830A1 shell.

This April 4 vigil was hosted by UCF Students for a Democratic Society in collaboration with Central Florida Queers for Palestine and UCF Young Democratic-Socialists of America.

The event started with a speech by UCF SDS co-founder Marcus Polzer, recounting the story of Hind Rajab, stating, “It is clear that the children of Palestine are not collateral damage, but the intended targets of Israel’s genocide. We must never allow horrors like this to be normalized, the martyrs of Palestine are more than numbers. They deserve justice and a free Palestine.”

A moment of silence was then held. after which the floor was open for anyone who wished to speak. Many audience members got up to share their grief and frustration with the U.S. government’s continued support and funding of Israel’s genocide.

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