Israeli soldier kills seven-month-old boy in occupied West Bank, IDF says incident under review: Details

Israeli soldiers on Friday (local time) shot and killed a seven-month-old Palestinian boy in the occupied West Bank and wounded his parents, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said.

The boy, who has been identified as Sam Fahd Abu Haikal, was in a car with his parents when an Israeli soldier opened fire on the vehicle near the city of Hebron, the ministry noted, adding that the gunfire killed Haikal and injured both of his parents, CNN reported.

Here's what we know

The boy's grandmother said the family was driving near Checkpoint 17 when they saw Israeli military vehicles and soldiers in the distance and stopped the car. She said shots were then fired toward them, which they initially believed were warning shots.

Speaking to Reuters, the boy's grandmother said that one bullet struck their car and noted, "The incident is unbelievable and unacceptable." She further said, "We are being harmed just because we decided to stay at our homes."

She added, "One bullet struck my grandson, traversed his face and crossed his head, striking his mother's cheek, where it lodged," she said, adding that the bullet had also grazed the father's finger and that the mother was in hospital.

Boy's father calls for investigation

The boy's father spoke to Israeli newspaper Haaretz and said it was still daylight and that the soldier who opened fire could clearly see that the occupants were a family. He added, “The soldier signalled me to stop. I brought the car to a complete halt and raised my hands on the steering wheel. Immediately afterwards, they opened fire on the vehicle."

Reacting to the incident, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), in a statement, said that its soldiers "perceived" a vehicle accelerating toward them and added that the soldier fired a single shot at the vehicle. The IDF further acknowledged that those injured were "uninvolved civilians." The IDF said the incident is under review.

However, the boy's father, Fahd Abu Haikal, who is a lecturer at Bethlehem University, rejected the IDF's account and said the soldier who opened fire was roughly 10 metres away from the car and could clearly see those travelling in it, including his wife and two children.

"I stopped as I was instructed to, and then they simply shot at the car,” he added. “There was no clear checkpoint, just soldiers standing in the street. I stopped when I was asked to, and then the shooting started,” he said.

Abu Haikal also called for an investigation into the matter and said the soldier responsible should be held to account. “I demand and expect, if there is any conscience, any law, any morality, that the soldier who fired the shots will be held accountable for his actions. This case must not be closed without an investigation and without accountability. At the very least, I do not intend to give up.”

Similar incidents reported earlier

According to Palestinian officials, similar incidents have occurred before. Earlier in March, four members of a Palestinian family, including two boys aged five and seven, who were out on a late-night drive after breaking the Ramadan fast, were shot dead by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank.

The development comes at a time of escalating tensions in the Middle East, and increasing condemnation of Israel's actions in both Gaza and Lebanon as Tel Aviv intensifies its military offensive despite a ceasefire being in place.

The United Nations (UN) reported in May that over 1,000 Palestinians had been killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem area since the war and added that at least 240 of them were children. At least 49 people have been killed this year.