Seven-month-old boy killed by Israeli forces laid to rest

A seven-month-old baby was laid to rest in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, a day after he was shot dead and his parents were injured by Israeli forces near Hebron, according to family members who witnessed the shooting and the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Sam Fahd Abu Haikal, wrapped in a white shroud and a Palestinian flag, was buried in Hebron after funeral prayers were held at a nearby mosque.

The baby was killed yesterday while traveling with his family by car near the city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank.

"What happened to us is not a matter of an apology. What happened is not that shots were fired by mistake and led to this tragedy," the child's father, Fahd, said.

He added: "To say it happened by mistake, that 'I didn't know you were coming here', or that the bullet passed through by accident - no. There is no such thing as 'by mistake' in this case."

The Israeli military claimed a single shot was fired after soldiers "perceived a vehicle accelerating toward them".

It has acknowledged that "uninvolved civilians" were injured and said that the incident was under review.

According to the child's grandmother, Firyal, the family had stopped their car after seeing Israeli soldiers in the Tel Rumeida area, south of Hebron.

Shots were fired, Firyal said, with one bullet piercing the car, killing Abu Haikal and wounding his parents.

"Immediately after the presence of the occupation forces, a soldier holding his weapon opened fire on us. The bullets struck the car.

"The soldier that shot at us was 10 metres away. The bullet penetrated the front windshield, went through my arm, and then struck my son in the head and my wife in the face," Fahd said.

The military has not identified the soldiers involved nor said if those soldiers were still carrying out their duties while the review into the shooting was under way.

Tel Rumeida, an area of Hebron Israeli settlers occupy under heavy military protection among Palestinian residents, has long been a flashpoint for violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

More than 700,000 settlers live in East Jerusalem and the West Bank among more than 3 million Palestinians, according to a European Union report in 2024.

Israeli attack kills three Lebanese soldiers

Two Lebanese army officers and a soldier were killed in an Israeli attack on a military vehicle in south Lebanon, the Lebanese army said, while the Israeli military claimed it was investigating the incident.

The Israeli military said it targeted the vehicle after identifying what it claimed was a threat to its forces and receiving indications that Hezbollah was preparing to fire on Israeli troops from the area.

Israel's military also claimed that an initial inquiry indicated that two officers and a soldier in the Lebanese army were inside the vehicle when it was attacked.

Lebanon's army said the Israeli attack happened on the Khardali-Nabatieh road, 70km south of Beirut.

Hezbollah condemned the Israeli attack, calling it a deliberate attack and part of Israel's continued aggression against Lebanon.

The group said the attack was the result of what it called the Lebanese authorities' disregard for the country's sovereignty and a series of concessions, including what it described as acquiescence to Israeli demands in Washington, which it said had emboldened Israel.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the Israeli attack, calling it a flagrant violation of Lebanon's sovereignty and international law that threatened stability in south Lebanon despite ongoing efforts to halt hostilities.

The Lebanese army has largely stayed out of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel and has not taken part in the fighting during the current conflict.

It comes as the US and Iran exchanged strikes in the Middle East.

The war began after Hezbollah opened a front against Israel in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas in October 2023.

The conflict escalated into a major Israeli air and ground war on Lebanon in 2024, killing much of Hezbollah's senior leadership and causing widespread destruction in the country's south and eastern regions.

A US-brokered ceasefire took effect in November 2024, but Israel has continued to attack Lebanon, claiming its attacks are aimed at Hezbollah members and infrastructure.

Hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah flared up again on 2 March when Hezbollah launched rockets and drones at Israel, in retaliation for Israel and the US killing of Iran's Supreme Leader.

Israel's war has since killed thousands of people in Lebanon and displaced more than a million people.

Lebanon's government responded by banning Hezbollah's military activities and has backed US-mediated efforts to secure a durable ceasefire, including talks aimed at ending hostilities, securing an Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon and addressing the issue of Hezbollah's weapons.

Hezbollah has rejected proposals linking a ceasefire to its disarmament, saying Israel must first halt its attacks and withdraw its forces.