The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns in the strongest terms the killing of seven-month-old Sam Fahd Abu Heikal and the injury of his parents, who sustained varying injuries after the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) directly opened fire on the civilian vehicle carrying the family in southern Hebron on Friday, 5 June 2026. PCHR considers this latest crime yet another example of the unlawful use of lethal force by the IOF against civilians who posed no imminent threat or danger.
According to information gathered by PCHR’s field researchers, at approximately 19:00 on Friday, 5 June 2026, a civilian Hyundai vehicle driven by Fahd ‘Abdel ‘Aziz Abu Heikal arrived in the vicinity of Abu Rezeq Square in southern Hebron. The vehicle was carrying his mother, Feryal Abu Heikal; his wife, Dania Nedal Salamah; their 7-month-old son, Sam; and their 12-year-old son, Kenan. The family was returning to their home in the Tal al-Ramidah neighborhood following a family visit in Bethlehem.
According to PCHR’s field investigations, the family was surprised by four Israeli soldiers positioned on the pavement adjacent to the road, approximately 10 meters from the vehicle. The passengers observed one of the soldiers aiming his weapon at the vehicle using a laser sight. The driver immediately slowed the vehicle, pulled over, switched off the engine, and raised his hands in a clear indication that he posed no threat to the soldiers.
Despite this, and without any prior warning or instructions issued to the passengers, one of the soldiers opened fire on the vehicle within less than a minute. Several rounds were fired, one of which penetrated the vehicle’s front windshield, injuring the driver, Fahd Abu Heikal, in the palm of his right hand. Another bullet struck seven-month-old Sam, who was in his mother’s arms as she was preparing to get out of the vehicle. The bullet entered below his left eye and exited from the right side of his face. His mother, Dania, also sustained injuries from shrapnel to her right jaw and the upper right side of her chest.
Following the shooting, the soldiers withdrew towards the road leading to the Tal al-Ramidah neighborhood without providing assistance to the injured or calling an ambulance. Residents subsequently gathered at the scene and evacuated the family to al-Ahli Hospital in Hebron, while the grandmother, Feryal Abu Heikal, was transferred by a Palestinian ambulance to ‘Alya Government Hospital.
At approximately 22:00 on the same day, medical personnel at ‘Alya Governmental Hospital declared the death of Sam Fahd Abu Heikal, who succumbed to his critical injuries. His father received treatment for his injuries, while his mother remains in the intensive care unit at al-Ahli Hospital in Hebron, where she is being treated for shrapnel injuries located near the heart.
In her statement to PCHR’s field researcher, the grandmother, Feryal Abu Heikal, said the following:
“When we reached Intersection 17 near Abu Rezeq Square, and approximately 200 meters from my home in Tal al-Ramidah, we saw four soldiers standing about 10 meters away from the vehicle. One of them was aiming his weapon at us using a laser sight. My son Fahd slowed down the vehicle until he turned off the engine, and raised his hands to show that he posed no threat. Despite this, and without any prior warning, the soldier fired two or three rounds at the vehicle in less than half a minute. One of the bullets penetrated the front windshield, injuring my son’s right hand, then struck baby Sam below his left eye and exited from the right side of his face. Shrapnel from the same bullet also injured his mother, Dania, in her face. I heard Dania screaming: ‘They killed my son… Sam is gone.’ At that moment, I realized what had happened and noticed that the soldiers had left the area immediately after the shooting. We began calling for help while Dania and baby Sam were bleeding, and my son Fahd was also injured in his hand. Residents took the family members to the hospital, while I was taken by ambulance to ‘Alya Governmental Hospital due to my psychological condition. At the hospital, I learned that baby Sam had been pronounced dead shortly after arrival. My son received treatment for his injuries, while Dania was transferred to al-Ahli Hospital due to shrapnel injuries to her face and chest, and she remains in the intensive care unit.”
The nature of the injuries inflicted on baby Sam and his parents supports the conclusion that the bullets were directly fired at the vehicle and its passengers, despite their clear civilian status and the presence of women and a child inside. The soldiers’ withdrawal from the scene immediately after the shooting, without providing any assistance to the injured or calling an ambulance, indicates a disregard for the lives and safety of the passengers, despite their apparent awareness that the close-range shooting had resulted in serious injuries.
These facts indicate Israel’s commission of an extrajudicial killing and the unlawful use of lethal force, in blatant violation of international human rights law, particularly, the Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms, which restrict the use of lethal force to situations of absolute necessity for the protection of life against an imminent threat, a threshold which was not met in the circumstances of the present incident.
Since the beginning of the year, IOF and settlers have killed 61 Palestinians, including 17 children and two women. Among the total, 16 were killed in attacks carried out by settler militias in the West Bank.
PCHR affirms that the targeting of Palestinian civilians, including children, in the absence of any real threat or imminent danger, constitutes a grave violation of the right to life guaranteed under international human rights law, and amounts to conduct that warrants international criminal accountability.
PCHR calls upon the international community and the High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions to take urgent action to ensure the protection of Palestinian civilians and to end the policy of impunity that encourages the continued perpetration of grave violations against Palestinians by IOF.
