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Israeli troops kill seven-month-old baby in West Bank shooting
🇦🇷 Argentina /Conflict & Security

Israeli troops kill seven-month-old baby in West Bank shooting

From La Nación · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Under investigation
  • Israeli troops killed a seven-month-old Palestinian baby in the occupied West Bank when they fired on the parents' vehicle.
  • The baby's father reported that a bullet passed through his son's face and then struck his wife, while he himself was shot in the hand.
  • The Israeli military acknowledged a soldier fired at civilians, stating the vehicle appeared to accelerate toward troops, and the situation is under review.

Israeli troops killed a seven-month-old Palestinian baby in the occupied West Bank when they fired on the parents' vehicle, the Palestinian Ministry of Health reported. The parents of Sam Fahd Abu Haikal were injured while driving Friday night in the Tel Rumeida area, south of Hebron.

A bullet went through the child's face from the right side and exited the left side

— Fahd Abu HaikalDescribing how his son and wife were shot.

The child's father, Fahd Abu Haikal, a professor at Bethlehem University, recounted the horrific incident. "A bullet went through the child's face from the right side and exited the left side" before striking his wife, he said. He sustained a gunshot wound to his hand. "He was the whole world," Haikal added, noting his son had turned seven months old on Friday.

Dozens gathered at the Hebron cemetery to accompany the father, who carried his son's body wrapped in a Palestinian flag. Kinan Abou Haikal, the baby's older brother, bid farewell at a mosque. The father demanded justice, stating, "In the end, they tell you it was a mistake. Nothing is called a mistake."

He was the whole world

— Fahd Abu HaikalExpressing grief over the death of his seven-month-old son.

Following a preliminary investigation, the Israeli military acknowledged that one of its soldiers fired "at civilians" after their vehicle appeared to accelerate toward troops. The military stated the situation is under review. The father told The Associated Press that a bullet hit the car's windshield before piercing his right hand and then hitting his wife and son in the back seat. Another bullet struck the vehicle's hood, according to AP reporters who saw the car. Haikal indicated his wife is in critical condition due to shrapnel near her heart.

In the end, they tell you it was a mistake. Nothing is called a mistake.

— Fahd Abu HaikalDemanding justice after his son's death.

The baby's grandmother, Feryal Abu Heikal, also in the car, said they stopped upon seeing Israeli military vehicles and soldiers from a distance. She initially thought the shots were warnings. "The scene was horrible: to see a seven-month-old baby with a destroyed face," she said. "What kind of army in the world does this?" The office of Palestinian Prime Minister Mohamed Mustafa denounced the incident on X, calling the baby "another victim of the Israeli occupation."

The scene was horrible: to see a seven-month-old baby with a destroyed face. What kind of army in the world does this?

— Feryal Abu HeikalThe baby's grandmother describing the aftermath of the shooting.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by La Nación in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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