Fact Check: Did Israeli troops shoot a 7-month-old baby? Shocking new video challenges IDF account

Sam Fahd Abu Haikal, the seven-month-old child of a Palestinian couple in the occupied West Bank, was gunned down by Israeli troops on Friday (Jun 5). Amid outrage over the killing of the infant, the Israeli military claimed that its forces had fired after "soldiers perceived a vehicle accelerating toward them". However, footage published by an Israeli rights group seems to refute the claim. Scroll down for a fact-check on Sam Fahd Abu Haikal's killing and IDF claims.

What happened to Sam Fahd Abu Haikal?

Seven-month-old Sam Fahd Abu Haikal, along with his family, was travelling through the city of Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, last week when Israeli forces opened fire on their car. The family was driving home from a day out in Bethlehem when their car was flagged down by Israeli soldiers.

At the baby's funeral on Saturday, his father Fahd Abu Haikal rejected Israeli military claims that the shooting was a mistake and said that the car was stopped just before an Israeli checkpoint near their home. He said that he raised his hands after bringing the car to a halt, but that the soldiers fired anyway. "The soldier that shot at us was 10m away. The bullet penetrated the front windshield, went through my arm, and then struck my son in the head and my wife in the face," he said, as quoted by the BBC. Sam died in the hospital, and his mother is still being treated for her wounds.

What did Israel say?

Shortly after the shooting, the Israeli military said it was opening an investigation into the shooting. Still, they claimed that an initial inquiry found that the Palestinian couple and their baby were "uninvolved civilians".

What does the new footage show?

Footage shared on X by the NGO B'Tselem corroborates Fahd's account. It shows that the car slowed and came to a halt as two soldiers approached. While the video does not show the actual shooting, it shows the Palestinian family outside their car. Also in the heartbreaking video, the seven-month-old child can be seen profusely bleeding while being held by his father.

The NGO has also accused soldiers of failing to provide help to the wounded. "After the shooting, the soldier who opened fire and another soldier who was with him left the scene without checking the vehicle and without providing aid to the critically injured infant and his mother," B'Tselem wrote on X. The army, meanwhile, told AFP it was "checking" the footage published by the NGO.

Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing conflicts in West Asia involving Israel, Iran, US, Gulf nations and non-state actors like Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthis, Islamic State, and others. Claims and counterclaims, disinformation and misinformation are being made online and offline. Given this context, WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, social media posts, photos and videos.