Father recounts moment Israeli soldiers killed his 7-month-old son in the West Bank

Fahd Abu Haikal, 41, remains in shock over the sudden death of his seven-month-old son, Sam, who was killed by Israeli soldiers as the family drove through the city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank on Friday evening. Sam was in the back seat with his mother Dania Salameh, 28, and older brother Kinan, 11, while his father drove his grandmother Ferial, 61, home to Hebron after a brief stay with relatives in Bethlehem.

As they approached the Tel Rumeida neighborhood of Hebron—where a large Israeli settlement exists and where Ferial lives—a group of soldiers emerged from the darkness. Fahd stopped the car and raised his hands, but despite all efforts to show they posed no threat, a soldier aimed and fired at the vehicle. The bullet pierced the windshield, passed through Fahd’s hand, and struck Sam in the face. The bullet killed Sam instantly, then continued through the jaw of his mother, leaving shrapnel in Dania’s body near her heart. Doctors decided not to remove the shrapnel for fear surgery near a major artery would be life-threatening.

Fahd called an ambulance, but with blood flowing from his wife and son, he could not wait any longer and flagged down a passing car to take them to the hospital. Due to Dania’s critical condition, he had to wait a day before telling her their son had died.

“After seeing the injuries, the soldiers withdrew from the scene without offering help or doing anything,” Fahd told Al Jazeera. “We were shot with intent to kill; the soldier shot us from the front left [of the car].”

Fahd plans to file a complaint against the soldier who fired the fatal shot, but he holds little hope for justice, especially given the army’s actions at the scene. “After the incident, the soldiers confiscated security camera footage from the area, but no one contacted us to investigate the crime,” Fahd said. “My older son, Kinan, is in a very difficult psychological state after losing his only brother, whom he had waited a long time for. Our lives have been turned upside down in an instant.”

Ferial recalled the heartbreaking moment she saw her grandson killed. “When I heard the gunfire, I thought the soldiers were only warning us, but then I realized a bullet had pierced the car and hit the baby,” she told Al Jazeera. “I screamed loudly in the street, and people gathered around me. I felt like I was losing my mind seeing blood covering Sam’s face and clothes.” Before leaving her son’s home, Ferial had filmed a video of Sam sitting in his stroller, exactly seven months after his birth. “He was a good, happy baby, didn’t cry much, was obedient, and always smiled,” she said. “I used to take photos and videos of him with my phone to watch when I got home because I always missed him so much.”

Hebron is one of the most oppressive environments for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, partly due to the presence of Israeli settlers in and around the city. Israeli forces have tightened their grip on Hebron since October 7, 2023, particularly around the Ibrahimi Mosque and the Kiryat Arba settlement, which includes Tel Rumeida. About 1,000 Palestinian families in the area are now effectively trapped in an open-air prison.

“We fear they are digging under our homes, just as they are doing in the Silwan neighborhood of Jerusalem, to make the house collapse and take everything,” Ferial said of her life in Tel Rumeida. Violence against Palestinians, including children, in Hebron has also increased. In December, Israeli soldiers opened fire on a car in the Bab al-Zawiya area of central Hebron, killing a sanitation worker and a young boy. The boy’s body remains held by Israeli authorities. A month later, Israeli forces shot dead a 58-year-old Palestinian man as he drove in the area with his daughter and four grandchildren, injuring one child.

Issa Amro, coordinator of the Youth Against Settlements group and a resident of Tel Rumeida, said Israeli forces had established a ring of control around the neighborhood. “Palestinians are not only prevented from entering Tel Rumeida to visit families, but the wave of Israeli violence has also made the area unsafe for local residents,” Amro said. “We live in constant fear and feel we are being targeted. Anyone living in this area expects to be shot at close range for no reason. We live in hell and terror, constantly worried for ourselves and our children.”