Israeli forces shot and killed a seven-month-old Palestinian infant in the occupied West Bank and wounded one parent after firing at the family car, even though the vehicle had stopped as ordered. The incident occurred on Friday in the Tel Rumeida district of Hebron. The baby, identified as Sam Fahd Abu Haikal, was taken to hospital in critical condition and later died. Both parents sustained injuries. The Israeli military stated that troops fired at a vehicle they thought was advancing toward them, but an initial review determined the victims were uninvolved civilians. The father, a university lecturer, told an Israeli newspaper that a bullet passed through his hand and hit his son, who was held by the mother in the rear seat. He said the family, including their 11-year-old son and the grandmother, had been driving through Hebron when soldiers signaled them to halt. The father claimed he stopped completely, raised his hands, and that visibility was clear in daylight. The military said one soldier fired single shots after perceiving the car accelerating toward troops, resulting in three Palestinians being wounded. It added that the event is under examination and expressed regret for harm to uninvolved people. The father disputed the account, noting the short distance and clear view of the family inside the untinted vehicle. He called for a full investigation and accountability. In a comparable case on 15 March in Tamoun, troops fired on another vehicle, killing a Palestinian couple and two of their young children. Human rights monitors reported that two other children were removed and questioned, ambulances were delayed, and the bullet-damaged car was later seized. The United Nations reported last month that over 1,000 Palestinians, including at least 240 children, have been killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since the war started, with 49 deaths recorded this year.
