Israeli soldier kills seven-month-old baby in West Bank shooting, video shows stop

A 7-month-old boy was killed in Tel Rumeida when an Israeli soldier fired into the Abu Haikal family car, wounding both of his parents and leaving a video trail that now raises hard questions about the military’s account and the prospect of justice. Sam Fahd Abu Haikal was in his mother’s arms in the back seat as the family returned home from a visit in the occupied West Bank.

The shooting took place on June 5, 2026, in Hebron, as Fahd Abu Haikal, Dania Salameh, their 11-year-old son, Kinan Abu Haikal, and the boy’s grandmother, Ferial Abu Haikal, were driving from Bethlehem. Abu Haikal said the family stopped after seeing soldiers and raised their hands. He said the shot came without warning around 7:30 p.m. in daylight, piercing the windshield, passing through his hand, killing his infant son, and striking his wife.

The Israel Defense Forces initially said troops fired because they believed the vehicle was accelerating toward them. But footage released on June 9 by B’Tselem appears to undercut that explanation, showing the car slowing to a stop before the shot. The rights group said the vehicle was far from the soldiers and posed no danger. It also said the soldiers left the scene without checking on the wounded baby or his mother.

The military later said it “expresses deep sorrow for any harm caused to uninvolved individuals” and said the Military Police had opened an investigation after a preliminary examination of the killing. That inquiry was reported to have been opened on June 7 and could be referred to the Military Advocate General for possible charges. The sequence leaves a familiar question hanging over deadly shootings in the West Bank: whether internal military review can produce accountability when a civilian child is killed during an encounter that the family says was controlled, visible, and avoidable.

Abu Haikal has said he held Sam until the last moment and called him “the smile in my house.” He also said soldiers confiscated security camera footage from the area and that no one had contacted the family about the investigation. Dania Salameh remained hospitalized after the shooting, while Fahd Abu Haikal was shot through the hand. The family buried Sam in Hebron on June 6, the day after he was killed.

B’Tselem’s executive director, Yuli Novak, said the case reflected broader Palestinian vulnerability under Israeli rule. In Tel Rumeida, where Israeli settlements and a heavy military presence have long heightened tension, the death of an infant has deepened scrutiny of rules of engagement and the adequacy of any mechanism for independent investigation or justice.