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Photo:
Sam Fahed Abu Haikal. Published by IMEMC News

The grandmother of seven-month-old Sam Fahed Abu Haykal killed by IDF fire shows his photo, in Hebron, Israeli-occupied West Bank, Friday night. Published by Haaretz

Documentation of Israeli settler and IDF soldier violence in the West Bank village of Huwara, Saturday. Published by Haaretz

Israeli settler "gang". Posted to Twitter (x) by Itay Epshtain, @EpshtainItay

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by IMEMC News
June 6, 2026

The seven‑month‑old infant Sam Fahed Abu Haikal was slain on Friday after Israeli soldiers opened fire at his family’s vehicle, injuring both parents, in the Tel Romeida area of Hebron city, in the occupied West Bank’s southern region.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said the infant, his mother, and his father were all shot when Israeli soldiers opened fire at their car on Friday evening in the Tel Romeida area, south of Hebron.

Local sources said Israeli soldiers fired live rounds at the family’s vehicle in the Wadi al‑Hariya neighborhood of Hebron, causing a critical injury to the infant, who later died of his wounds. His mother and father sustained moderate injuries.

The child’s father, Fahed Abdul‑Aziz Abu Haikal, a lecturer at Palestine Al‑Ahliyya University in Bethlehem, lives in Bethlehem with his wife and their infant son, Sam.

While driving to his mother’s home in Tel Romeida, Israeli soldiers opened fire at the car, wounding him in the hand and injuring his wife with the same bullet that penetrated the jaw of their infant son. All three were transferred to a hospital for treatment.

Feryal Abu Haikal, the infant’s grandmother, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, said the soldiers opened fire from a distance of about ten meters, directly at the vehicle, even though it had come to a complete stop and posed no threat.

She explained that the family was returning from her son Fahed’s home in Bethlehem to her house in Hebron, near the area of the so‑called “Checkpoint 17” in Wadi al‑Hariya. She added that her son took this route to avoid traffic congestion.

It is worth mentioning that late Thursday night, Israeli occupation forces shot and killed an 18‑year‑old Palestinian during an invasion of the village of Beitin, east of Ramallah, in central West Bank.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health said it was formally notified by the General Authority of Civil Affairs that the slain Palestinian was identified as Haitham Ezzeddine Omar Hamida, 18.

Last Sunday evening, Israeli occupation forces shot and killed a Palestinian man evening at the Etzion junction south of Bethlehem in the southern occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Ministry of Health has confirmed.

The Health Ministry said it was officially informed by the Civil Affairs Authority of the killing of Amjad Jawad Abdul‑Fattah Natsha, 31, from Hebron in the southern West Bank, after Israeli forces opened fire on him at the heavily militarized junction.

Since the beginning of this year, Israeli soldiers and illegal paramilitary Israeli colonizers have killed 68 Palestinians in several parts of the occupied West Bank, including 17 killed by colonizers. Among the slain Palestinians are 16 children, 5 women, 2 elders, and 1 journalist.

Israel continues to withhold the bodies of 19 Palestinians slain by its forces, refusing to transfer them to their families.
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The IDF said a soldier opened fire on the family's vehicle after perceiving a threat. The father rejected: 'The windows weren't tinted, it was broad daylight and everything was clear. You can't say he didn't see it was a family'

by Jack Khoury for Haaretz, and Reuters
June 06, 2026

The Israeli military fatally shot a seven-month-old baby and moderately wounded his parents in the southern West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry reported.

According to medics, IDF soldiers fired at the family's vehicle in the Tel Rumeida neighborhood of Hebron. Seven-month-old Sam Fahed Abu Haykal, was evacuated in critical condition to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, the ministry said.

Responding to a request for comment, the IDF said soldiers "perceived a vehicle accelerating toward them," after which troops fired "single shots toward the vehicle."

"An initial inquiry found that those injured were uninvolved civilians," the IDF said. "The IDF expresses deep sorrow for any harm caused to uninvolved individuals."

The IDF said that during operational activity in the Hebron area on Friday, ⁠soldiers perceived a vehicle accelerating toward them and one soldier fired single shots at the vehicle. They reported that three Palestinians were ‌wounded and evacuated for medical treatment.

The baby'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.

"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 hospitalized.

Witnesses and Palestinian sources told local media that soldiers stationed in the area opened fire on the family's vehicle as it was driving through the neighborhood.

Earlier on Friday, the Red Crescent reported that Israeli settlers wounded three Palestinians near the town of Idna, west of Hebron. Two of them had gunshot wounds, according to medics, and one of them remains in serious condition.

According to Palestinian outlets, the incident took place during a settler raid on the town's agricultural fields. The settlers reportedly blocked the area with berms and barricades, blocking Idna's residents from accessing the area.

In March, Israeli forces fatally shot two parents and two of their children in the West Bank town of Tammun. The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the fatalities as 37-year-old Ali Khaled Bani Odeh, 35-year-old Waad Othman Bani Odeh, seven-year-old Othman and five-year-old Mohammed.

Eight-year-old Mustafa and 11-year-old Khaled were lightly wounded by shrapnel, medics said at the time.

Khaled, the oldest child to survive the incident, said that the six family members were in their car as they were shot. Two of his brothers were killed on the spot, and his father and mother died shortly after.

Khaled shared that an Israeli soldier removed him from the vehicle after shooting. "He said, 'We killed some dogs,' removed me from the vehicle and beat me," Khaled said.

"After that, they took me to a Jeep and searched me. They asked me, 'who was with you in the car?' When I said, 'my mother, father and brothers,' he started yelling at me, calling me 'liar, liar.'"

At the time, the IDF said the soldiers felt threatened by the vehicle, which they said accelerated in their direction. Family members of the killed Palestinians said the military's response was "absurd," calling the shooting a "cold-blooded murder."

Josh Breiner contributed to this report.
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After Two Days, IDF Announces It Will Probe Soldier Who Fatally Shot Palestinian Infant

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not issued a public statement regarding the killing of seven-month-old Sam Fahed Abu Haykal in Hebron on Friday, nor the settler and soldier attack in Huwara the following day

by Matan Golan for Haaretz
01:35 PM • June 07 2026 IDT

The Israeli military announced on Sunday that it has opened an investigation into the fatal shooting of a seven-month-old Palestinian infant and the wounding of his parents by IDF troops near Hebron on Friday.

At the same time, military officials say they have been unable to identify the soldiers and settlers filmed beating residents in a separate incident that took place at a West Bank village on Saturday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not issued a public statement regarding the killing of the baby Sam Fahed Abu Haykal or the attack in Hawara.

Citing medics dispatched to Hebron's Tel Rumeida neighborhood on Friday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said IDF soldiers opened fire on the Abu Haykal family's vehicle, critically wounding seven-month-old Sam Fahed. The infant was evacuated to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, according to the ministry.

Sam Fahed's father, Fahed Abu Haykal, told Haaretz that soldiers opened fire on his family's car moments after he complied with an order to stop, rejecting the military's account that the shooter perceived a threat.

The father added that a bullet passed through his hand and struck his son, Sam, who was being held by his mother in the back seat. The family, which also included the couple's 11-year-old son and the father's mother.

He said that the sun was still out and that the soldier who fired at his car clearly saw that it was a family. "The soldier signaled me to stop, so I stopped the car completely and raised my hands on the steering wheel. Immediately afterwards, fire opened at the car," he said.

Abu Haykal called for an investigation into the shooting and for the soldier to be brought to justice. "I demand and expect, if there's any conscience, any law, any morality to anybody at all, that the soldier who shot will be held accountable for his actions. This must not be closed without an investigation and without accountability. At least I don't intend to give up."

On Saturday, eight Palestinians were wounded in an attack by settlers in the town of Hawara near Nablus, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.

In a preliminary IDF investigation, settlers were reported to have raided the area and thrown stones at residents. Footage from the scene obtained by Haaretz shows a group of settlers and a soldier knocking two Palestinians to the ground and severely beating them, including with clubs. The settlers and soldiers were seen leaving the scene afterward.

One of the Palestinians sustained serious head wounds and was evacuated for medical treatment. Several hours after the footage was circulated, the IDF said they had not yet located the soldier involved.

"Once the soldier is found, he will be disciplined and command and disciplinary measures will be taken in accordance with the findings," a statement by the IDF said.

Kamal al-Jaber, head of the Huwara local council, told Haaretz that between 100 and 150 settlers took part in the raid. "Wherever there were sheep pens or enclosures, they stormed them and the animals. These are known groups that operate like gangs," he said.
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