US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib has called for the arrest of an Israeli military commander accused of involvement in the killing of five-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab in Gaza, after a human rights organisation revealed that he was visiting the US.
Tlaib made the demand on Monday after the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) filed an urgent request with the US Department of Justice seeking the investigation, arrest and prosecution of Sean Glass, a former commander in Israel's 52nd Armoured Battalion.
The foundation alleges that Glass commanded the unit responsible for opening fire on the vehicle carrying Hind and her relatives in Gaza City on 29 January 2024.
"As a party to the Genocide Convention and the Geneva Conventions, our government is obligated to arrest and investigate him for these war crimes and acts of genocide," Tlaib wrote on social media.
The foundation said its investigation placed Glass and soldiers from his "Vampire Empire" Company within a few hundred metres of Hind's vehicle during the attack, saying that he most likely gave the order to open fire.
It said the evidence included geolocation analysis and documentation of the unit's movements, alongside statements made by Glass about his military operations in Gaza.
The allegations against Glass have not been established in court.
Hind was travelling with relatives through Gaza City when their car came under Israeli fire. Six-year-old cousin Layan Hamadeh contacted the Palestinian Red Crescent Society for help before she was killed.
Hind subsequently spoke to emergency dispatchers, pleading for someone to rescue her as she remained trapped in the vehicle, surrounded by the bodies of her relatives.
The recordings of her desperate calls for help provoked international outrage.
An ambulance dispatched to rescue Hind was also attacked, killing two Palestinian paramedics. Hind's body and those of the rescuers were discovered days later.
An investigation by the research group Forensic Architecture subsequently found no evidence of the Israeli account of the incident, which claimed that there was an exchange of fire with Palestinian fighters.
The killing became one of the most widely recognised symbols of the suffering of Palestinian children during Israel's genocide in Gaza.
Wider allegations against Israeli commander
The Hind Rajab Foundation also accuses Glass of involvement in other military operations across Gaza, including the assault on Al-Shifa Hospital, the destruction of the headquarters of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, and the devastation of residential neighbourhoods.
It alleges that his company participated in the seizure and destruction of the Rafah Crossing, which connects Gaza with Egypt.
According to the foundation, Glass publicly celebrated the destruction carried out by his unit, including in statements describing the devastation of areas his soldiers had been ordered to enter.
The organisation said it had previously submitted material concerning Glass and other Israeli soldiers to the International Criminal Court, alongside complaints to national judicial authorities.
Its latest action seeks to establish whether US authorities will pursue allegations against an Israeli military officer present on American territory.
Polish explosives manufacturer faces legal challenge
The demand for Glass's arrest comes as the Hind Rajab Foundation pursues a separate legal challenge in Poland over the alleged supply of explosives used in Israel's military campaign in Gaza.
On Monday, the foundation, alongside the International Federation for Human Rights and the European Legal Support Centre, announced an appeal against a Warsaw prosecutor's decision to dismiss a criminal complaint targeting representatives of Polish explosives manufacturer Nitro-Chem.
The original complaint, filed in June, alleges that the state-owned company supplied TNT used in the manufacture of American bombs subsequently transferred to Israel, potentially implicating its representatives in international crimes committed against Palestinians.
The organisations argue that Nitro-Chem's commercial relationships with US arms manufacturers, as well as its direct sales to Israeli defence companies, warranted a criminal investigation.
They are asking the Warsaw Regional Court to review the dismissal and examine whether company representatives could bear criminal responsibility for supplying materials allegedly used in war crimes and genocide.
The allegations against Nitro-Chem representatives have not been established in court.
The two cases reflect the foundation's expanding efforts to pursue accountability not only against Israeli military personnel accused of atrocities in Gaza, but also against companies and individuals allegedly involved in supplying the weapons used during the genocide.
