Israeli soldier kills seven-month-old Palestinian baby, then walks away

Israeli soldier kills seven-month-old Palestinian baby, then walks away Elis Gjevori on Sat, 06/06/2026 - 20:39 The baby’s father says Israeli soldiers fired despite seeing a family inside the vehicle Palestinian Fahd Abou Haikal carries the body of his seven-month-old son Sam during the funeral in Hebron in the occupied West Bank on June 6, 2026. (Hazem Bader/AFP) Off Israeli soldiers killed a seven-month-old Palestinian baby in the occupied West Bank after opening fire on his family’s car, despite the vehicle stopping when ordered. The baby boy, named 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 taken to hospital in critical condition and later died. Friday was the day he turned seven months old. His grandmother, Ferial Abu Haikal, told Reuters the family stopped when they saw Israeli military vehicles and soldiers ahead. She said they first thought the gunfire was warning shots. "One bullet struck my grandson, traversed his face and crossed his head, striking his mother's cheek where it lodged," the grandmother said. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); The child’s mother did not know her son had died until Saturday morning. "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," the grandmother added. '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 had signalled for him to stop and that he 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 told Haaretz. “The soldier was about 10 metres away from me. He saw me, he saw my wife and the children,” he told Haaretz. “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,” he said. Ferial Abu Haikal, the grandmother of seven-month-old Sam Fahd Abu Haikal, weeps over his body at a hospital in Hebron, in the occupied West Bank on June 6, 2026. (Hazem Bader/AFP) (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Speaking at Sam’s funeral on Saturday, Abu Haikal said “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 7 months old infant killed in cold blood. He didn’t deserve this,” he added. Abu Haikal demanded 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.” (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); The Israeli army claimed that “the incident is under review”. 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. Israeli soldiers rarely face punishment for violence against Palestinians. Israeli rights group Yesh Din says soldiers were indicted in less than 1 percent of 2,427 complaints of wrongdoing between 2016 and 2024. Occupation News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0