Israeli soldiers shot and killed a 7-month-old Palestinian baby, Sam Fahd Abu Haikal, and wounded his parents in their car in Hebron, West Bank. The Israeli military said soldiers perceived the car accelerating toward them, but the family states they were fully stopped on command. The incident occurs amid a surge in West Bank violence and a documented pattern of low indictment rates for Israeli soldiers accused of harming Palestinians.
Hebron infant shooting
- ▪A bullet struck the car's windshield, pierced the father's right hand, and then hit his son and wife who were in the back seat
- ▪The baby's parents were also injured in the shooting; his mother was left in critical condition with shrapnel near her heart
- ▪On June 5, 2026, Israeli soldiers shot and killed a 7-month-old Palestinian baby, Sam Fahd Abu Haikal, in the Tel Rumeida area of Hebron in the occupied West Bank
IDF initial inquiry
- ▪An initial inquiry by the Israeli military found that the three Palestinians wounded in the shooting were uninvolved civilians
- ▪The IDF said the incident is under review and expressed "deep sorrow for any harm caused to uninvolved individuals."
- ▪The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated that its troops had fired at a vehicle they believed was accelerating towards them
Family eyewitness account
- ▪The father asserted that it was broad daylight and the soldier who fired could clearly see the car's occupants were a family
- ▪Fahd Abu Haikal stated that soldiers opened fire immediately after he stopped the vehicle and raised his hands on the steering wheel
- ▪The baby's father, Fahd Abu Haikal, said he brought the car to a complete halt after a soldier signaled for him to stop
West Bank violence patterns
- ▪The UN reported in May 2026 that over 1,000 Palestinians, including at least 240 children, had been killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since October 2023
- ▪In a similar incident in March 2026, Israeli troops killed a Palestinian couple and their two sons, aged five and six, in the northern Jordan valley
- ▪Israeli military activity and settler violence against Palestinians have surged in the West Bank since the war in Gaza began in October 2023
Israeli military accountability
- ▪The British consulate in Jerusalem said it was "shocked and saddened" by the killing and called for an "immediate and transparent investigation and accountability."
- ▪According to Israeli rights group Yesh Din, Israeli soldiers were indicted in less than 1% of 2,427 complaints of wrongdoing against Palestinians between 2016 and 2024
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