Israeli forces fatally shot a seven-month-old Palestinian infant in the occupied West Bank and wounded one parent after opening fire on the family car, even though it had halted following an order to stop.

On Friday, troops fired at a vehicle transporting the baby and his parents in Hebron's Tel Rumeida district. The infant, identified as Sam Fahd Abu Haikal, suffered critical wounds and was rushed to a hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries. Both parents sustained wounds as well.

The Israeli military stated that soldiers had targeted a car they thought was advancing toward them, yet an early probe determined the casualties were uninvolved civilians.

In remarks to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the father, Fahd Abu Haikal, a lecturer at Bethlehem University, explained that a bullet went through his hand and hit his son Sam, who was held by his mother in the rear seat. He noted the family, including their 11-year-old son and Abu Haikal's mother, was traveling through Hebron on Friday evening when troops signaled for the car to halt.

He added that visibility was good in daylight and the soldier could clearly observe the passengers were a family. The soldier directed him to stop, he brought the car to a full stop and raised his hands on the wheel, after which they immediately fired on the vehicle, he told Haaretz.

The Israel Defense Forces reported that troops saw a vehicle speeding toward them and one soldier fired single shots at the car.

Three Palestinians were wounded and taken for medical care, the IDF noted, while confirming the event remains under examination and conveying regret over harm to uninvolved people.

Abu Haikal disputed the military version of events.

The soldier stood roughly 10 meters away, saw him along with his wife and children, he told Haaretz. The windows lacked tinting, daylight was full and conditions were evident, so it cannot be claimed he failed to notice it was a family.

He stopped as directed and then they simply shot at the car, he continued. No proper checkpoint existed, only soldiers positioned in the street, and he complied with the stop request before the gunfire began.

Abu Haikal urged a probe and accountability for the shooter. He called for the responsible soldier to face consequences if any conscience, law or morality applies, insisting the matter cannot close without inquiry and responsibility, and stating he will not abandon the effort.

In a comparable event on 15 March, Israeli troops in Tamoun in the northern Jordan Valley fired on a vehicle passing through the area, killing a Palestinian couple and two of their children. The deceased were named as Ali Bani Odeh, 38, his wife Waad Bani Odeh, 36, and their sons Othman, six, and Mohammad, five.

The Israeli human rights group B'Tselem reported that soldiers removed two other children, Khaled, 11, and Mustafa, eight, who had minor shrapnel wounds, then subjected Khaled to a harsh interrogation at the site.

B'Tselem noted the military initially blocked ambulances from the location and granted access only after a delay. Troops later seized the family's vehicle, which the group said was filled with bullet holes.

The UN reported last month that over 1,000 Palestinians have died in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since the war started, including at least 240 children, with 49 fatalities recorded this year.