The baby’s father says Israeli soldiers opened fire despite clearly seeing a family inside the vehicle
Israeli soldiers killed a seven-month-old Palestinian baby in the occupied West Bank after opening fire on his family’s car, even though the vehicle had stopped after being ordered to do so.
The infant, Sam Fahd Abu Haikal, was shot on Friday afternoon in the Tel Rumeida area of Hebron while travelling with his parents, his 11-year-old brother and his grandmother. He was rushed to hospital in critical condition but later died from his injuries.
Friday marked his seven-month birthday.
His grandmother, Ferial Abu Haikal, told Reuters that the family stopped their vehicle after seeing Israeli military vehicles and soldiers ahead on the road. She said they initially believed the gunfire was intended as warning shots.
“One bullet struck my grandson, traversed his face and crossed his head, striking his mother’s cheek where it lodged,” she said.
Sam’s mother was not informed of his death until Saturday morning. According to his grandmother, “She kept asking about him repeatedly while at the hospital, but the family avoided telling her the truth due to her health condition and the potential shock she would experience.”
‘He saw me, he saw my wife and the children’
Sam’s father, Fahd Abu Haikal, a lecturer at Bethlehem University, told Haaretz that a soldier signalled for him to stop and that he immediately complied.
“The soldier signalled me to stop. I brought the car to a complete halt and raised my hands on the steering wheel. Immediately afterwards, they opened fire on the vehicle,” he said.
“The soldier was about 10 metres away from me. He saw me, he saw my wife and the children. The windows were not tinted, it was broad daylight and everything was clear. You can’t say he didn’t see that it was a family.”
“I stopped as I was instructed to, and then they simply shot at the car,” he added. “There was no clear checkpoint, just soldiers standing in the street. I stopped when I was asked to, and then the shooting started.”
Speaking at his son’s funeral on Saturday, Abu Haikal said that “the soldier opened fire, then pulled back his unit and just walked away without a single word or a second thought”.
“The car was completely stationary when he shot at us. It wasn’t moving at all. A seven-month-old infant was killed in cold blood. He didn’t deserve this,” he said.
Abu Haikal called for accountability, saying: “I demand and expect, if there is any conscience, any law, any morality, that the soldier who fired the shots will be held accountable for his actions. This case must not be closed without an investigation and without accountability. At the very least, I do not intend to give up.”
The Israeli military said the incident is under review.
Last month, the United Nations reported that Israeli forces and settlers have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since the war in Gaza began in October 2023, including at least 240 children.
Israeli soldiers rarely face prosecution for violence against Palestinians. Israeli human rights organisation Yesh Din says soldiers were indicted in less than one percent of 2,427 complaints of alleged wrongdoing filed between 2016 and 2024.
