West Bank: Palestinian infant killed by Israeli army fire, his parents injured

Israeli army fire killed a Palestinian infant on Friday and injured his parents in the south of the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry reported, with the army admitting to having opened fire on a civilian vehicle.

Sam Fahd Abou Haikal, aged seven months, was killed and his parents were lightly injured “after the occupying forces (Israeli, editor’s note) opened fire on them Friday evening in the area of ​​Tel Rumeida, in the south of Hebron”indicated the ministry in a short press release. Doctor Tareq Barbarawi, director of the Hebron government hospital, earlier told AFP that the child had been hospitalized for injuries «graves».

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In a statement, the Israeli army said that soldiers had seen, in the Hebron area, “a vehicle accelerating in their direction”. A soldier then opened fire, according to this source, who specified that according to a preliminary investigation, the victims “were civilians” out of responsibility.

At least 1,080 Palestinians killed in West Bank

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. Violence linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict exploded in this territory on the sidelines of the war in Gaza, triggered by the unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023.

Since then, at least 1,080 Palestinians, including many fighters, but also many civilians, have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli soldiers or settlers, according to an AFP count based on data from the Palestinian Authority.

At the same time, according to official Israeli data, at least 46 Israelis, including civilians and soldiers, were killed there in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations.