Barcelona, Spain – Hundreds of protesters – among them the mother of Hind Rajab – gathered at Barcelona’s Playa del Somorrostro on January 29, 2026, to memorialise the 2-year anniversary of the Gazan child’s death and to protest the ongoing humanitarian crisis.
Protesters transformed the Playa de Somorrostro, one of Barcelona’s most popular tourist spots surrounded by volleyball courts and nightclubs, into a live art installation, lifting a 1100-square-meter portrait of Rajab designed by artist María del Mar Gregorio and a large sign reading “Free Gaza’s Children”.
“They killed her twice”
Hind Rajab was a five-year-old Palestinian girl, killed on January 29, 2024, after the car she was in while fleeing heavy fighting in the Tel Al-Hawa neighbourhood of Gaza City was shot by an Israeli tank. Rajab’s aunt, uncle and cousins were also killed.
An emergency call made to the Palestine Red Crescent Society was released on February 3, and shows dispatchers talking to the girl, who was instructed to remain in the car while emergency workers organised an ambulance to rescue her.
After this three-hour call, the connection with Rajab was lost, and her body was found 12 days later on February 10 after the Israeli military left the area and her family were able to return. The bodies of two ambulance workers, Yusuf al-Zeino and Ahmed al-Madhoun – who had been sent to rescue five-year-old – were also recovered.
Her story has become an international rallying cry for the pro-Palestinian movement. Her killing has been the subject of a number of investigations, with experts appointed by the UNHRC stating that her death may amount to a war crime.
In 2024, American rapper Macklemore released the song “Hind’s Hall” in her honour. Three films have been made about her story, with Kaouther Ben Hania’s The Voice of Hind Rajab being nominated for Best International Feature Film at the 2026 Academy Awards.
Thursday’s protest
The rally in Barcelona’s famous beach was organised by AVAAZ, a U.S.-founded non-profit of over 60 million members, which organises and campaigns for a variety of humanitarian causes. It was also attended by EU Reports.
Throughout the protest, which began at 1 pm, protestors chanted in at least four languages about the conflict in Gaza: “We are all children of Gaza”; “Boycott Israel”; “Israel is not a country, it is an occupation”; and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”.
Patricia López, a spokesperson for the organisation, spoke to EU Reports about the event and wider campaign:
“What we are here to do today is not only to commemorate this incredibly painful date, but we also want to demand justice, accountability and freedom for the children of Gaza who are still dying today.”
“Right now, one Palestinian child dies every day. This means that the supposed ceasefire in Palestine is not working – the genocide is still happening,” she continued.
According to López, Barcelona has a “proud tradition of supporting the Palestinian people” and the Spanish state has been “one of the most vocal and firm”.
In the past three years, hundreds of protests have been held across the country in support of Palestine, and over 80% of Spaniards consider Israel’s actions in Gaza to be a genocide, according to a survey carried out last July by the Eclano Royal Institute think tank.
López also highlighted the choice of location, noting that “it is well known that Hind loved the Mediterranean”.
The spokeswoman added that AVAAZ decided to hold the action at the Playa Somorrostro in order to “send a message from one coast of the Mediterranean to another, and so that our Palestinian brothers and sisters feel our support across the Mediterranean that Hind loved so much.”
Following the art installation, protestors gathered at the edge of the beach to hear a series of speeches. Wissam Hamadah, the girl’s mother, read out a poem she had written about her daughter.
Image credit: Lili Fairclough
“Thank you for […] drawing a name that neither the sea nor time can erase, Hind Rajab. Hind Rajab is not just a child. Today Hind represents all the children of Gaza. Her name has become a cry. Her image has become testimony.”
“Drawing Hind in the sand means saying this: even as they try to erase the truth, the truth will return. Even if the sea washes it away, it will be written again,” read Hamadah in a strong yet tone. At times, she stopped to choke back tears.
Dr. Graeme Groom, an orthopaedic trauma surgeon who has travelled to Gaza over 40 times, also attended the protest. In his speech, he told the story of Adam, a young Gazan child he helped treat in one of his recent visits to Gaza:
“So what are we asking on behalf of the children of Gaza? We are asking that their day be regulated by the school bells and not by the sounds of war,” he stated.
Visual and performance art were central to the event. Beyond the central artwork of Rajab, protestors held up five smaller pieces of artwork drawn by Gazan children as the speeches were read.
Saja Kilani, the leading actress in The Voice of Hind Rajab, also spoke at the protest, highlighting the legacy that Hind’s emergency call has had:
“Exactly two years ago, Hind made a call because she believed she would be saved. The Red Crescent heroes tried everything in their power, and yet she was killed, and so were the medics, Ahmed al-Madhoun, Yusuf al-Zeino who tried to save her.”
“And her voice was not meant to echo”, Kilani continued. “Yet two years later, here we are – look around you. The voice of Hind Rajab did not stay in that car. It traveled across borders, across languages, across oceans.”
After the speeches, artist María del Mar Gregorio presented Wassam with the original drawing of Hind, “mother to mother”. In a very emotive scene, the crowd chanted “Wissam, Wissam, you are not alone”.
Featured image credit: Lili Fairclough
