A tragic incident occurred on Friday evening in the Tel Rumeida district of occupied Hebron in the West Bank. Seven-month-old Sam Fahd Abu Haikal was killed by an Israeli soldier’s bullet while the family was travelling by car. His parents were also wounded.
According to the family, the car was stopped at the demand of Israeli soldiers. Fahd Abu Haikal, the boy’s father and a lecturer at the University of Bethlehem, says the vehicle was standing still when the soldier opened fire from a close distance of about 10 metres. The bullet pierced the front windscreen, passed through the father’s hand, and then struck the infant in the face/head and the mother. The car also carried Sam’s 11-year-old brother and grandmother.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed the child’s death and the injuries to his parents. The boy died in hospital after being transported in critical condition.
Position of the Israeli army
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) initially stated that soldiers opened fire because the vehicle was “accelerating towards them” during an operation in the area and was perceived as a threat. However, after a preliminary review, it was determined that the victims were civilians not involved in any activity.
On Sunday, the Israeli Military Police opened a formal investigation into the killing of the infant. The army expressed its condolences to the family.
Funeral and the family’s reaction
On Saturday, 6 June 2026, Sam’s funeral was held in Hebron. The boy’s body, wrapped in a white shroud and a Palestinian flag, was carried by his father. The funeral was preceded by prayers at a nearby mosque.
The family rejects explanations of a “mistake” or a perceived threat. The boy’s grandmother, Ferial Abu Haikal, told news agencies that the family stopped upon seeing vehicles and military soldiers. They initially thought the shots were warnings. The mother only learned of her son’s death the next morning, due to her state of health.
In interviews, Fahd Abu Haikal stressed that the soldier could see the family in the car: a woman, children and an infant, and still opened fire.
Context
The incident in Tel Rumeida is another tragic episode in the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the West Bank. According to monitoring organisations, since October 2023 Israeli forces have killed at least several hundred Palestinian children in the area.
The case has caused enormous outrage on social media and within the international community. Photos of the father carrying his son’s body have circulated around the world.
What do you think about this tragedy and the rules on the use of weapons by Israeli forces in densely populated areas? Let us know in the comments.
