A newly released video obtained by the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem shows an Israeli soldier opening fire on a Palestinian family vehicle in Hebron, killing a seven-month-old baby and injuring both of his parents.
According to B’Tselem, the footage documents the shooting of the Abu Hikal family on June 5 in the Tel Rumeida neighborhood of Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank.
The organization said the incident occurred as the family was returning home from a family visit. The father, who was driving, reportedly slowed the vehicle after noticing Israeli soldiers stationed on the road ahead.
Video footage released Tuesday shows the car reducing its speed as it approached the soldiers. B’Tselem said the vehicle was still some distance away and posed no threat when an Israeli soldier opened fire.
The shooting killed seven-month-old Sam Abu Hikal, who was being carried in his mother’s arms inside the vehicle.
The footage also shows the baby’s father holding his son moments after the shooting and attempting to stop severe bleeding from the infant’s head. The child’s mother, who was also wounded in the attack while carrying her son, can be seen sitting on the roadside near the family’s vehicle.
B’Tselem said the video contradicts any claim that the family posed a danger to Israeli forces, asserting that the shooting occurred while the vehicle was slowing to a stop.
The rights organization called attention to the incident as further evidence of what it described as the excessive use of force against Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank.
No immediate comment from the Israeli military was included in B’Tselem’s statement.
The killing comes amid escalating violence across the occupied West Bank, where Palestinian civilians, including children, have increasingly been caught in Israeli military operations and settler attacks.
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