Israeli Forces Fatally Shoot Seven-Month-Old Palestinian Boy Sam Fahd Abou Haikal in Hebron

Israeli forces fatally shot a seven-month-old Palestinian boy, Sam Fahd Abou Haikal, and wounded his parents after opening fire on a car in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron on Friday evening.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health said the shooting happened “after the occupation forces opened fire on them,” and the family said they had obeyed orders to stop in the Tel Rumeida area.

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The Israeli military said soldiers “perceived a vehicle accelerating toward them” during “operational activity” and responded with “single shots toward the vehicle,” while an initial inquiry found those injured were “uninvolved civilians.”

BBC reported that the funeral took place in Hebron the day after Sam’s death, with his father Fahd carrying the small shrouded body wrapped in a Palestinian flag to the graveyard.

CBS News said the father, Fahd Abu Haikal, was shot in the hand while traveling from Bethlehem to visit family in Hebron, and the baby later died of injuries after being struck in the face by the same bullet.

The family rejected the Israeli account of a mistake, with Sam’s father telling the Associated Press, “At the end they tell you it was a mistake,” and adding, “Nothing is called a mistake.”

BBC also quoted Fahd dismissing the IDF’s expression of regret, saying, “When more than one bullet is fired, when there's no warning shot and no warning at all, it can't be a mistake!”

Al Jazeera

The Israeli military acknowledged the family were “uninvolved civilians” and said the incident was under review, while CBS News reported the IDF “expresses deep sorrow for any harm caused to uninvolved individuals.”

Reuters quoted Sam’s grandmother, Firyal Abu Haikal, saying they were “surprised” when Israeli soldiers fired at them although their vehicle was “completely stopped.”

CNN reported that the IDF said a soldier fired a single shot after perceiving the vehicle accelerating toward them, and that the incident was under review, while noting the wounding of both parents.

The shooting occurred as violence in the occupied West Bank escalated since Israel began its war on Gaza in October 2023, with Al Jazeera reporting that Israeli forces and settlers have killed at least 1,080 Palestinians in the West Bank since then.

BBC placed the incident within a wider pattern, saying more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since the deadly Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel on 7 October 2023, and it cited that at least 44 Israelis have been killed during Palestinian attacks or Israeli military operations.

The BBC account also described Tel Rumeida as a flashpoint where Israeli settlers live among Palestinian residents and where there is a heavy Israeli military presence intended to provide protection for settlers.

In the same reporting period, CBS News said Israel’s retaliatory campaign in Gaza has killed more than 72,900 Palestinians according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, and it tied the West Bank escalation to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that killed some 1,200 people and took 251 people hostage.

PBS added that Israeli soldiers accused of harming Palestinians are rarely punished, citing that they were indicted in fewer than 1% of cases based on 2,427 complaints alleging wrongdoing between 2016 and 2024, according to Israeli rights group Yesh Din.