Israeli Troops Kill Palestinian Baby

Israeli troops shot at a car in the occupied West Bank, killing a 7-month-old Palestinian baby, Sam Fahd Abu Haikal, and wounding his parents, Sam Fahd Abu Haikal and his wife. The Israeli military stated that soldiers fired at a vehicle perceived to be accelerating towards them near Hebron, later acknowledging the wounded were uninvolved civilians. This incident highlights the surge in Israeli military activity and settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank since the war in Gaza began in October 2023. The baby's father, Sam Fahd Abu Haikal, a Bethlehem University lecturer, recounted how a bullet struck the windshield, then his hand, and subsequently hit his son and wife in the back seat. The baby's mother is in critical condition. The event has drawn strong condemnation and calls for justice, with the family refusing to accept it as a 'mistake'. Israeli rights group Yesh Din noted that Israeli soldiers accused of harming Palestinians are rarely penalized. Concurrently, there were reports of settler attacks in Huwara and Israeli strikes in Gaza City, killing several people. Meanwhile, Hamas negotiators, chaired by Khalil al-Hayya, began a new round of ceasefire talks in Cairo with mediators from Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey, aiming to implement the Gaza ceasefire deal and address the issue of disarming Hamas.