A seven-month-old Palestinian baby, Sam Fahd Abu Haikal, was killed and his parents were wounded by Israeli gunfire on Friday evening in the Tel Rumeida area south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank. The infant was critically injured after soldiers opened fire on the family's car and later died in the hospital.
Family members and the Palestinian Health Ministry reported that the family had stopped their car after seeing Israeli military vehicles and soldiers near Checkpoint 17. The child's father, Fahd, stated that a soldier approximately 10 meters away fired a bullet that penetrated the front windshield, passed through his arm, struck his son in the head and jaw, and lodged in his wife's face. The infant was in his mother's arms at the time of the shooting.
The Israeli military stated that soldiers fired a single shot after they perceived a vehicle accelerating toward them during operational activity. An initial military inquiry acknowledged that the injured individuals were uninvolved civilians. The military noted that the incident is under review and findings will be submitted to relevant authorities.
Sam Fahd Abu Haikal was laid to rest in Hebron on Saturday following funeral prayers at a nearby mosque. Tel Rumeida has long been a flashpoint for violence in the West Bank, where over 700,000 settlers live among more than 3 million Palestinians. Violence in the region has escalated since Israel began its war on Gaza in 2023.