A tragic incident occurred Friday evening in the Tel Rumeida district of occupied Hebron, West Bank. Seven-month-old Sam Fahd Abu Haikal was killed by a bullet from an Israeli soldier while the family was driving. His parents were also injured.
According to a family report, the car was stopped at the request of Israeli soldiers. Fahd Abu Haikal, father of a boy and lecturer at the University of Bethlehem, claims that the vehicle was standing still when the soldier fired at close range – about 10 metres. The bullet penetrated the windshield, passed through the father's hand, and then hit the infant in the face/head and mother. Sam's 11-year-old brother and grandmother were also in the car.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed death child and parents' injuries. The boy died in hospital after being transported in critical condition.
The position of the Israeli Army
Israel's Defense Force (IDF) initially stated that soldiers opened fire because the vehicle "speeded towards them" during operations in the area and was seen as a threat. After initial verification, however, it was considered that the victims were civilians not involved in any action.
On Sunday, Military Police Israel has initiated a formal investigation into infant murder. The army expressed condolences to the family.
Family funerals and reactions
Saturday, June 6, 2026, was held in Hebron funeral Alone. The boy's body, wrapped in a white shroud and a Palestinian flag, carried his father. The funeral preceded prayers at a nearby mosque.
The family rejects translations of "mistake" or danger. The boy's grandmother, Ferial Abu Haikal, in an interview with news agencies reported that the family had stopped to see vehicles and military soldiers. At first they thought shots were warnings. The baby's mother didn't know her son died until the next morning because of her health.
Fahd Abu Haikal emphasized in interviews that a soldier saw a family in a car: a woman, children And the baby still opened fire.
Background
The Tel Rumeida incident is another tragic episode in the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the West Bank. According to monitoring organizations, since October 2023 Israeli forces have killed at least several hundred Palestinian forces in this area children.
The case has aroused great emotions in social media and among the international community. The pictures of the father carrying his son's body have gone around the world.
What do you think of this tragedy and the principles of the use of weapons by Israeli forces in densely populated areas? Let me know in the comments.
Oh, shit, "incident"? "Episode"? Get a grip and call things what they should be called: Murder! Crime! Beast! Cruel! That's mean! Such terms should be called the actions of these... degenerates.