Newly released video footage has reignited outrage across Palestine and among human rights advocates after documenting the killing of seven-month-old Palestinian infant Sam Abu Haikal, who was shot in the head while sitting in his mother's arms during an Israeli military attack in the Tel Rumeida neighborhood of Hebron.

The footage, published by the Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem, captures the moments surrounding the shooting that took place on June 5, when an Israeli soldier opened fire on a vehicle carrying the Abu Haikal family as they were returning home from a family visit.

According to B'Tselem, the family's car was approaching a military position and slowing down in response to the presence of Israeli soldiers on the road. The organization emphasized that the vehicle was some distance away from the soldiers and posed no threat whatsoever.

Despite the absence of any danger, the soldier fired live rounds toward the vehicle, fatally wounding baby Sam, who was seated in the back seat in his mother's arms.

The footage shows the child's father desperately attempting to stop the bleeding from his son's head moments after the shooting. It also captures the injured mother sitting on the roadside beside the family's vehicle after being struck by gunfire while holding her infant son.

Medical teams later confirmed that seven-month-old Sam succumbed to his injuries shortly after the attack. Both of his parents were also wounded and remain hospitalized.

In its report, B'Tselem stated that the soldiers involved left the scene immediately after the shooting without inspecting the vehicle, providing medical assistance, or attempting to help the critically injured infant and his mother.

"After the shooting, the soldier who fired the shot and another soldier who was with him left the scene without searching the vehicle or offering any assistance to the critically wounded child and his mother," the organization said.

The human rights group described the incident as part of a broader pattern of violence against Palestinians and criticized what it called a culture of impunity surrounding Israeli military actions.

B'Tselem noted that over the past two and a half years, more than 20,000 Palestinian children have been killed in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, describing the killing of baby Sam as another example of the devastating human cost of Israel's military policies.

"The impunity granted to soldiers and colonists by the Israeli system has led to a daily reality where the killing of Palestinians in any form is supported and justified by the system, even when it involves a seven-month-old baby," the organization stated.

B'Tselem Executive Director Yuli Novak said the tragedy reflects a wider failure by the international community to hold Israel accountable for actions against Palestinian civilians.

"The impunity the international community provides to Israel has led to a situation where Palestinian lives have become completely expendable," Novak said.

The killing of baby Sam has sparked renewed calls from Palestinian rights groups and international advocates for independent investigations into attacks against civilians and for accountability mechanisms to address alleged violations of international humanitarian law.

For many Palestinians, the footage serves as a painful symbol of the vulnerability faced by families living under military occupation, where even infants are not spared from violence. Human rights advocates argue that the incident underscores the urgent need for international action to protect Palestinian civilians and ensure justice for victims of unlawful killings.

As the grieving Abu Haikal family struggles to come to terms with the loss of their youngest child, calls continue to grow for those responsible to be held accountable and for greater international scrutiny of the treatment of Palestinians in the occupied territories. (ILKHA)