A seven-month-old Palestinian infant who was killed during a shooting incident near Hebron was laid to rest on Saturday in the occupied West Bank, as grieving relatives gathered for his funeral.
The child, Sam Fahd Abu Haikal, was wrapped in a white shroud and a Palestinian flag before funeral prayers were held at a mosque in Hebron.
According to family members, the incident took place on Friday while the family was travelling by car in the Tel Rumeida area south of the city. The child’s parents were also injured in the shooting.
The infant’s father, Fahd Abu Haikal, said the family had stopped their vehicle after encountering Israeli soldiers in the area. He alleged that shots were then fired directly at the car from close range.
Speaking after the funeral, the father rejected suggestions that the shooting had been accidental, saying the soldiers were positioned only a short distance away when the gunfire began.
The child’s grandmother, Firyal Abu Haikal, said bullets struck the vehicle moments after the family noticed the military presence nearby.
The incident has drawn renewed attention to tensions in the West Bank, where violence and military operations have intensified in recent months amid the wider regional conflict.
No immediate statement from the Israeli military was included in the report.
