Hind Rajab’s Alleged Killer Is in the United States. HRF Demands His Arrest.

Sean Glass commanded the “Vampire Empire” Company implicated in the killing of five-year-old Hind Rajab, members of her family, and the medics sent to rescue them. HRF’s investigation places him and his troops in the direct vicinity of Hind’s vehicle during the killing.

HRF alleges that he most likely gave the order to open fire. His alleged responsibility extends across Gaza: attacks on Al-Shifa Hospital, the destruction of the UNRWA headquarters, the razing of entire neighbourhoods, and the destruction of the Rafah Crossing—devastation he publicly celebrated.

Today, Glass walks free in the United States. HRF demands that the U.S. authorities arrest him and bring him to justice.

19 October 2026 – Brussels, Belgium/United States — The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) has filed an urgent request with the U.S. Department of Justice, demanding the immediate investigation, arrest, and prosecution of Sean Glass, currently present in the United States. Glass commanded the ‘Vampire Empire’ Company of the 52nd Armored Battalion (401st Armored Brigade) in Gaza.

He is accused of war crimes under the U.S. War Crimes Act, 18 U.S.C. §2441, and genocide under the U.S. Genocide Statute, 18 U.S.C. §1091, including willful killing, torture and inhuman treatment, unlawful transfer, and the extensive and wanton destruction of property not justified by any military necessity.

Glass is not in hiding. He is now present in the U.S., and has spent two years documenting his own crimes in public. On Instagram, in interviews, and in a self-published book, he has proudly recounted the destruction of hospitals, UN buildings, entire neighborhoods, and the Rafah Crossing, the lifeline on which Palestinian survival depended.

Celebrating 100 days of the war, he described the campaign as a "war of existence of the eternal people" and urged his troops to "attack, attack till victory." Marking seven years in the army, he wrote there was "no more significant way to celebrate" than in Al-Shifa, "the terror nest," posting side-by-side satellite images of Al-Shifa Medical Complex before and after his forces destroyed it.

In his farewell speech to his company, he boasted that they had "destroyed every part to where we were asked to go, in all areas of the Gaza Strip," and described emptying the Zeitoun neighborhood of its residents. Days after the ceasefire took effect, still in Gaza, he filmed himself promising, "I'll rush at the opportunity to return to the battle and finish the work."

Sean Glass, Israeli commander accused of war crimes in Gaza, including Hind Rajab's murder, is walking freely around the United States, enjoying his trip.

This is a confession in his own words, recorded, posted, and archived.

HRF’s complaint documents that Glass served in and commanded the unit that led the assault on Al-Shifa Hospital, destroyed the UNRWA headquarters, razed Palestine Square and the Rimal neighborhood; and became the first armored unit to enter Rafah, seizing and destroying the Rafah Crossing and the infrastructure essential to the survival of two million people.

Glass did not merely participate in the campaign that has killed more than 77,000 Palestinians, wounded over 175,000, and damaged or destroyed roughly all structures in Gaza: as a company commander, he directed it on the ground.

Glass was also in command of the Vampire Empire Company when his troop killed five-year-old Hind Rajab. HRF's investigation established that the only armored unit operating in the area was the 52nd Battalion, and that Glass's Vampire Empire Company, including its commander, were present a few hundred meters from Hind's vehicle throughout the period of the killing.

Legal Action Already Underway

The U.S. request is not HRF’s first legal action against Glass. HRF has already filed a submission concerning Sean Glass and other soldiers before the International Criminal Court (ICC,) and criminal complaints against members of his unit before justice authorities in other countries, including the United States. Meanwhile, Glass continues to travel around the world as if nothing has happened, monetizing his ‘service’ with the publication of his book while his victims remain under the rubble.

Jake Romm, HRF’s Representative in the United States

“The War Crimes Act and the Genocide Statute were written precisely for men like Sean Glass. Congress and successive administrations promised that the United States would never be a refuge for war criminals, instead it has condoned and aided their crimes. Glass and his company are responsible for some of the worst atrocities of this genocide—that he now walks free and unbothered in the U.S. is not only an insult to his victims,  but to all people of conscience here in the U.S. as well. Some politicians in the U.S. have claimed to be committed to accountability for Israeli war crimes—this filing is a good opportunity to test the sincerity of that commitment.”

Natacha Bracq, Head of Litigation at HRF:

“The evidence in this file is damning and it is extensive: geolocated imagery, forensic analysis, the suspect's own posts and his own voice, all of it preserved to evidentiary standard. We are calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to open an investigation now. All that is missing is the will to act.”

Dyab Abou Jahjah, General Director at HRF:

“Glass is not just another man implicated in the killing of Hind Rajab. He is the man who most likely gave the order to open fire on the vehicle carrying Hind and members of her family, including other children. That Glass can walk the streets of the United States as though nothing has happened is intolerable. He must be brought to justice.”

HRF is unwavering in its mission to put an end to impunity and securing justice for the victims of Israel's genocide in Gaza.

We continue to identify the perpetrators and accomplices. We document their crimes. We pursue them through courts around the world. And, we challenge states that fail to meet their obligations under international law to investigate and prosecute war criminals.

Those responsible for the genocide in Gaza must know that impunity has an expiration date. We will not stop until justice is served.