A SEVEN-MONTH-OLD baby boy was killed by Israeli gunfire on Friday in the occupied West Bank.

Sam Fahd Abou Haikal died and his parents were injured “after the occupation forces opened fire on them on Friday evening” in the south of the city of Hebron, the Palestinian health ministry has said.

The Israeli military said its forces had opened fire after “soldiers perceived a vehicle accelerating toward them”, but said an initial inquiry found the three Palestinians were “uninvolved civilians” and expressed “deep sorrow” for any harm caused.

Dr Tareq Barbarawi, the director of a Hebron hospital, had earlier told AFP the child had been taken into care with “serious” injuries.

Reuters has reported that the baby’s grandmother said the family were driving in the area and stopped their car when they saw Israeli military vehicles and soldiers in the distance.

She said shots were 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,” said the grandmother.

Since the war in Gaza broke out in October 2023 with Hamas’s attack on Israel, near-daily violence has rocked the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967.

Israeli soldiers or settlers have killed at least 1,080 Palestinians since then.

- © AFP 2026 and with additional reporting from Diarmuid Pepper