- A seven-month-old Palestinian baby boy, Sam Fahd Abu Haikal, was killed after Israeli soldiers opened fire on his family’s vehicle near Hebron City in the occupied West Bank.
- The infant’s mother remains in critical condition with shrapnel lodged near her heart, while his father, a university lecturer, sustained a gunshot wound to the hand during the attack.
- Following an initial inquiry, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) admitted that the victims were uninvolved civilians, expressing deep sorrow for the harm while stating that the incident is under review.
A devastating military escalation in the occupied West Bank has resulted in the death of a seven-month-old Palestinian infant, triggering widespread international condemnation.
Eko Hot Blog reports that the Palestinian health ministry confirmed that young Sam Fahd Abu Haikal was killed on Friday evening after Israeli troops opened fire on his parents’ vehicle in the Tel Rumeida area, located south of Hebron City.
EDITOR’S PICK
- Fresh Details Emerge on Death of Odomola Monarch, Oba Adebowale Adeshina
- Sanwo-Olu Applauds LASU’s Academic Excellence After JAMB Ranking
- NRC Moves 176,820 Tonnes Of Cargo Through Lagos Ports In Q1
The infant’s father, Fahd Abu Haikal, a lecturer at Bethlehem University, was driving his family from Bethlehem to visit relatives in Hebron when the shooting occurred.
Photographic evidence from the scene revealed severe damage to the family vehicle, including a distinct bullet hole piercing the front windshield, positioned directly in front of where the child’s car seat was secured.
According to harrowing accounts provided by the family, the vehicle had stopped near an active checkpoint upon spotting Israeli military vehicles in the distance.
The baby’s grandmother, Feryal Abu Heikal, who survived the ambush uninjured, stated that they initially believed the soldiers were deploying warning shots before live rounds tore through the car.
The father recounted that a single bullet shattered the windshield, pierced his hand, and then traveled through his infant son’s face before striking his wife.
The mother was rushed to Al-Ahly Hospital in Hebron, where she remains in critical condition due to shrapnel lodged dangerously close to her heart. Medical officials noted that she has not yet been informed of her son’s passing.
Responding to inquiries regarding the fatal encounter, a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated that on-duty soldiers fired single shots after perceiving a vehicle accelerating toward their position in the Hebron sector.
However, the military’s initial internal inquiry quickly determined that those injured were entirely uninvolved civilians.
While expressing deep sorrow for the civilian harm, the IDF confirmed the incident is undergoing a formal review but did not explicitly verify the age or gender of the casualties in their initial press brief.
The lethal encounter has drawn sharp diplomatic backlash, with the British consulate in Jerusalem demanding an immediate, transparent investigation and full legal accountability to protect vulnerable civilian populations.
The tragedy unfolds amidst a sharp, long-term spike in West Bank violence since the outbreak of the regional war.
United Nations tracking data indicates that over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank and east Jerusalem since late 2023, with at least 240 of the victims identified as children.
Human rights organizations, including the Israeli rights group Yesh Din, have repeatedly criticized the operational conduct of state forces, pointing out that soldiers accused of harming civilians are rarely penalized, with indictments occurring in fewer than 1% of thousands of complaints filed over nearly a decade.
As local communities prepare for the infant’s funeral on Saturday, regional tensions remain extremely volatile across the occupied territories.
