At the end they tell you it was a mistake. Nothing is called a mistake.
Sam Fahd Abu Haikal was killed Friday when Israeli soldiers opened fire on his parents' car near Hebron; a bullet pierced his face and also wounded his mother and father. Israeli military said soldiers responded to a perceived threat, with initial inquiry finding the civilians were uninvolved; accountability remains rare, with fewer than 1% of complaints resulting in indictments.
- Sam Fahd Abu Haikal, 7 months old, killed Friday in Tel Rumeida south of Hebron
- Bullet entered right side of face, exited left; mother critically wounded, father shot in hand
- Israeli soldiers indicted in fewer than 1% of 2,427 complaints of wrongdoing (2016-2024)
- Over 1,000 Palestinians killed in West Bank and East Jerusalem since October 7, 2023; at least 240 were children
Israeli troops shot and killed a 7-month-old Palestinian baby in the occupied West Bank, claiming soldiers fired at a vehicle they perceived as accelerating toward them. The incident has drawn international condemnation and renewed scrutiny of accountability for Israeli military actions.
A seven-month-old boy named Sam Fahd Abu Haikal was killed Friday evening when Israeli soldiers opened fire on his parents' car in the Tel Rumeida area south of Hebron. A bullet entered through the right side of his face and exited the left. His mother was struck by the same round. His father, Fahd Abu Haikal, a lecturer at Bethlehem University, was shot in the hand. The family had been driving to visit relatives in Hebron when the shooting occurred.
According to the Israeli military, soldiers fired at the vehicle because they perceived it accelerating toward them. The military said troops responded with single shots and that an initial inquiry determined the three Palestinians hit were uninvolved civilians. The situation remained under review. But the father's account, corroborated by journalists who examined the car, told a different story about the sequence of events. A bullet struck the windshield, passed through his right hand, then struck his son and wife in the back seat. Another round hit the hood.
The boy had turned seven months old that same day. His mother was in critical condition, with shrapnel lodged near her heart. The family told her that her son was dead just before she was taken to funeral prayers. At the cemetery, the father carried his child's body wrapped in a Palestinian flag. Men placed the small bundle at their feet and bowed in prayer. "He was the entire world," the father said.
The baby's grandmother, Feryal Abu Heikal, was also in the vehicle. She described stopping when she saw Israeli military vehicles and soldiers in the distance near a checkpoint. When the gunfire began, she initially thought they were warning shots. "The scene was horrific to see a 7-month-old baby with a smashed face," she said. "What kind of army in the world does this?" The father demanded accountability. "At the end they tell you it was a mistake," he said. "Nothing is called a mistake."
The killing drew swift international response. The British Consulate in Jerusalem said it was "shocked and saddened" and called for an immediate and transparent investigation with accountability. Yet the historical record suggests such accountability is rare. Between 2016 and 2024, Israeli soldiers accused of harming Palestinians were indicted in fewer than one percent of cases—fewer than 27 indictments out of 2,427 complaints alleging wrongdoing, according to the Israeli rights group Yesh Din.
The incident reflects a broader escalation in the West Bank since October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, triggering the war in Gaza. Since that date, the United Nations reported that more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, at least 240 of them children. The same day as the shooting, eight people were wounded in settler attacks on the town of Huwara near Nablus, including injuries from tear gas and rubber-coated metal bullets. The Israeli military said riots broke out between Israelis and Palestinians over a reported livestock theft, and that it was reviewing video of a soldier using violence against a Palestinian.
More than 700,000 Israelis live in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, territories Israel captured in 1967. The international community overwhelmingly considers Israeli settlement construction in these areas illegal and an obstacle to peace. Meanwhile, in Gaza, an Israeli strike Saturday killed at least six people, including two women, near a school in Gaza City, according to hospital officials. Israel's military said it had attacked "terrorists" in the area. Hamas negotiators began a new round of ceasefire talks in Cairo with mediators from Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey, seeking to break a deadlock and fully implement the agreement that began in October.
Citações Notáveis
He was the entire world.— Fahd Abu Haikal, the father
The scene was horrific to see a 7-month-old baby with a smashed face. What kind of army in the world does this?— Feryal Abu Heikal, the baby's grandmother
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why does the military's account matter if the father's version is what we can see in the car itself?
Because official narratives shape what happens next—whether there's an investigation, whether anyone is held responsible. The military said they perceived a threat. The father says they were simply driving. The car shows both stories are incomplete.
The grandmother thought they were warning shots at first. Does that suggest the soldiers were trying not to kill?
It suggests confusion in the moment, maybe. But a bullet that travels through a windshield, through a man's hand, through a baby's face—that's not a warning. That's a round that found its target.
The statistic about indictments is striking. Fewer than one percent. Does that mean investigations don't happen?
Investigations happen. But they rarely lead anywhere. That gap between complaint and accountability is where most cases disappear.
The father said "nothing is called a mistake." What does he mean?
He means that when the outcome is always the same—no one punished, no one held to account—calling it a mistake becomes a way of erasing responsibility. A mistake implies someone will learn, will change. This pattern suggests otherwise.
Is there any indication this will be different?
The British Consulate called for transparency and accountability. But that's what they always call for. The question is whether this time, the system responds differently than it has in the 2,400 cases before it.