On June 5, a seven-month-old Palestinian boy was killed and his parents were wounded by Israeli gunfire in the Tel Rumeida area, located south of the West Bank city of Hebron, the Palestinian health ministry said.
The ministry identified the infant as Sam Fahd Abu Haikal and stated that he was killed at the scene. It added that both parents sustained injuries in the shooting and were in moderate condition at the time of reporting.
The child’s grandmother described the family’s account of the events. She said they were driving near Checkpoint 17 when they noticed Israeli military vehicles and soldiers in the distance and chose to stop the car. According to her statement, shots were soon fired in their direction and were initially believed by the family to be warning shots.
"One bullet struck my grandson, traversed his face and crossed his head, striking his mother’s cheek where it lodged," she said. She added that the bullet had also grazed the father’s finger and that the mother was in hospital.
The Israeli military released a description of the incident from its own perspective. It said that during operational activity in the Hebron area on Friday, soldiers perceived a vehicle accelerating toward them and that a single soldier fired single shots at the vehicle. The military reported that three Palestinians were wounded and evacuated for medical treatment.
An initial military inquiry, the army said, determined that those who were injured were "uninvolved civilians." The military also confirmed the incident was under review and that the findings of the inquiry would be submitted to the relevant authorities.
Tel Rumeida is an area of Hebron where Israeli settlers live under heavy military protection among Palestinian residents, and it has long been a flashpoint for violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the article said. A European Union report in 2024 noted that over 700,000 settlers live in East Jerusalem and the West Bank among more than 3 million Palestinians.
The shooting and the differing accounts from the family and the military have led to an ongoing review of the events. Authorities on both sides have, as of the latest statements, described the wounded as civilians and indicated that inquiries are underway to determine the circumstances that led to the use of live fire.