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Infant killed in Hebron
Israeli forces opened fire on a car carrying Sam Fahd Abu Haikal and his family in the Tel Rumeida area of Hebron, killing the seven-month-old Palestinian boy and wounding his parents after the vehicle stopped when ordered.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said the infant was killed and his parents were wounded, while the Israeli military said soldiers “perceived a vehicle accelerating toward them” and responded with “single shots toward the vehicle.”
The boy’s father, Fahd Abu Haikal, told Haaretz that “I brought the car to a complete halt and raised my hands on the steering wheel. Immediately afterwards, they opened fire on the vehicle,” and he said the soldier was about 10 metres away.
Reuters reported that the family stopped when they saw Israeli military vehicles and soldiers ahead, and the grandmother, Ferial Abu Haikal, said they first thought the gunfire was warning shots.
The incident is described as occurring Friday afternoon, with the boy later dying after being taken to hospital in critical condition, and the Israeli army said “the incident is under review.”
Competing accounts and quotes
At the center of the dispute, the family said the car was completely stationary when the shooting began, while the Israeli military said its soldiers believed the vehicle was accelerating toward them.
The grandmother, Ferial Abu Heikal, told Reuters that “one bullet struck my grandson, traversed his face and crossed his head, striking his mother's cheek where it lodged,” and she said the family avoided telling the boy’s mother until Saturday morning.
Fahd Abu Haikal, speaking at Sam’s funeral, said “the soldier opened fire, then pulled back his unit and just walked away without a single word or a second thought,” and he demanded accountability for the soldier who fired.
The Israeli military’s account, as quoted by Al Jazeera, said an initial inquiry found that “those injured were uninvolved civilians,” and it added that the incident was under review.
In parallel, the UN said last month that Israeli forces and settlers have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since the Gaza genocide began in October 2023, including at least 240 children, according to the Middle East Eye report.
Wider war-era escalation
The shooting in Hebron is presented in multiple reports as part of a broader escalation in the occupied West Bank since Israel began its war on Gaza in October 2023.
An AFP tally cited by Al Jazeera says Israeli forces and settlers have killed at least 1,080 Palestinians in the West Bank since, while the Middle East Eye report says the UN counted more than 1,000 Palestinians killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since the Gaza genocide began in October 2023, including at least 240 children.
The Palestinian Prime Minister’s office condemned the killing, posting on X that “the infant has just begun his life and has become another victim of the Israeli occupation,” and the father rejected calling what happened a mistake.
The Israeli military said the incident was under review, while the Guardian reported that the IDF expressed “deep sorrow for any harm caused to uninvolved individuals” and said an initial inquiry found those injured were uninvolved civilians.
The CBS News account also tied the incident to the wider war context, noting that Israel’s retaliatory campaign has so far killed more than 72,900 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, and it said the British consulate in Jerusalem was “shocked and saddened” and called for an “immediate and transparent investigation and accountability.”
