Israeli soldier kills 7-month-old boy in occupied West Bank, IDF says incident under investigation: Details

Israeli soldiers shot dead a seven-month-old Palestinian boy in the occupied West Bank and wounded his parents on Friday (local time), the Palestinian Ministry of Health said.

The boy, who has been identified as Sam Fahd Abu Haikal, was in a car with his parents when an Israeli soldier opened fire on the vehicle near the city of Hebron, the ministry noted, adding that the gunfire killed Haikal and wounded both his parents, CNN reported.

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Here’s what we know

The boy’s grandmother said the family was driving near Checkpoint 17 when they saw Israeli military vehicles and soldiers in the distance and stopped the car. She said shots were then fired at them, which they initially believed were warning shots.

The boy’s grandmother told Reuters that one bullet had hit their car, adding: “This incident is unbelievable and unacceptable.” She went on to say, “We are being harmed just because we chose to stay in our homes.”

She added: “One bullet hit my grandson, went through his face and crossed his head, hitting his mother’s cheek where it lodged,” she said, adding that the bullet also grazed his father’s finger and the mother was in hospital.

The boy’s father is calling for an investigation

Speaking to Israel’s Haaretz newspaper, the boy’s father said it was still daylight and that the soldier who opened fire could clearly see that the occupiers were a family. He added: “The soldier signaled me to stop. I brought the car to a complete stop and put my hands on the steering wheel. Immediately after that they opened fire on the vehicle.”

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Responding to the incident, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said its soldiers “perceived” a vehicle speeding towards them, adding that a soldier fired a single shot at the vehicle. The IDF further acknowledged that the injured were “uninvolved civilians”. The IDF said the incident is under investigation.

But the boy’s father, Fahd Abu Haikal, who is a lecturer at Bethlehem University, rejected the IDF’s account, saying the soldier who opened fire was about 10 meters from the car and could clearly see its occupants, including his wife and two children.

“I stopped as I was instructed 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 and then the shooting started,” he said.

Abu Haikal also called for an investigation into the matter and said the soldier responsible should be held accountable. “I demand and expect, if there is any conscience, any law, any morality, that the soldier who fired will be held accountable for his actions. This case must not be closed without investigation and without accountability. At the very least, I’m not going to give up.”

Similar incidents have been reported earlier

According to Palestinian officials, similar incidents have occurred before. In early March, four members of a Palestinian family, including two boys aged five and seven, were shot dead by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank on a night drive after breaking Ramadan.

The development comes at a time of escalating tensions in the Middle East and growing condemnation of Israeli actions in both Gaza and Lebanon, as Tel Aviv steps up its military offensive despite the cease-fire.

The United Nations (UN) reported in May that over 1,000 Palestinians had been killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since the war, adding that at least 240 of them were children. At least 49 people have been killed this year.