Israeli soldiers open fire on car in West Bank, killing 7-month-old baby

By Abeer Salman and Eyad Kourdi, CNN

(CNN) — Israeli soldiers opened fire on a car in the occupied West Bank on Friday, killing a 7-month old Palestinian baby boy and wounding his parents, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

Sam Fahd Abu Haykal was in a car with his parents when an Israeli soldier opened fire at the vehicle near the city of Hebron, the ministry said. The gunfire killed Haykal and injured both of his parents.

The boy’s grandmother, Firyal Abu Haykal, told Reuters that one bullet struck their car, killing the baby. “The incident is unbelievable and unacceptable,” she told Reuters. “We are being harmed just because we decided to stay at our homes.”

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that soldiers “perceived” a vehicle accelerating toward them. A soldier fired a single shot at the vehicle, the IDF said, acknowledging that those injured were “uninvolved civilians.”

The IDF said the incident is under review.

Such incidents have occurred before. In March, four members of one Palestinian family, including two boys aged 5 and 7, who were out on a late-night drive after breaking the daily Ramadan fast, were shot dead by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank, Palestinian officials reported.

This story has been updated.

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