Israeli soldier kills infant Sam Fahd Abu Haikal in Hebron, West Bank

A seven‑month‑old Palestinian baby, Sam Fahd Abu Haikal, was killed and his parents wounded when an Israeli soldier opened fire on their car in the Tel Rumeida area of Hebron, West Bank, on Friday. The father, Fahd Abu Haikal, a Bethlehem University lecturer, said the vehicle had stopped and he raised his hands, yet a soldier fired through the windshield, striking his hand, his son’s face and his wife’s jaw. The mother, Dania Salameh, suffered shrapnel near her heart.

The Israeli military initially said troops acted after “perceiving a vehicle accelerating toward them,” but an early inquiry found the three Palestinians were “uninvolved civilians.” On Sunday the military announced that its Military Police Criminal Investigation Division would investigate the killing, with findings to be forwarded to the Military Advocate General’s Office.

The British Consulate in Jerusalem expressed shock and called for an immediate, transparent investigation and accountability. The incident adds to a surge of violence in the occupied West Bank since the war in Gaza began in October 2023, during which over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed, including many children.