Israeli Woman in Labor Killed en Route to Hospital, Newborn in Critical Condition
A pregnant Israeli woman was killed and her newborn left in critical condition after a Palestinian gunman opened fire on Israeli vehicles Wednesday night in the northern West Bank, according to the Israeli military and emergency responders.
The victim, 30-year-old Tzeela Gez, was traveling with her husband, Hananel, from their home in the Bruchin settlement to a hospital in Petah Tikva to give birth. Their vehicle came under fire on Route 446, near the town of Pedu’el.
Gez was rushed to Rabin Medical Center in critical condition, where doctors performed an emergency C-section to deliver her baby. She succumbed to her injuries early Thursday morning. The infant, now in intensive care at Schneider Children’s Hospital, remains in serious condition.
Hananel Gez sustained minor injuries.
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רצח צאלה גז ז״ל, בדרכה לחדר לידה, הוא מעשה טרור נפשע שמצמרר כל לב. דווקא ברגע של חיים – נקטפו חיים באכזריות. ליבי עם המשפחה האבלה ועם כל אוהביה ואהוביה שמזועזעים עמוקות. כולנו מתפללים עתה לשלומו של התינוק ולרפואת בעלה הפצוע חננאל. הטרור לא ינצח את הרוח הישראלית. נרדוף את הטרור… pic.twitter.com/y23HizV0gE
— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) May 15, 2025
The Israel Defense Forces launched a manhunt for the attacker, encircling the adjacent Palestinian town of Bruqin with troops and drone surveillance. According to Palestinian reports, residents were forced to sleep in cars due to road closures.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir visited the scene and vowed that Israeli forces would track down the shooter. “This is a difficult and painful attack. We will activate all our tools and reach the murderers to bring them to justice,” he said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the attack, calling it “horrific.” “This abhorrent incident precisely reflects the difference between us, who desire and bring life, and the reprehensible terrorists, whose goal is to kill us and destroy life,” he said.
President Isaac Herzog called the attack “a spine-chilling, horrific act of terror that shakes us to the core.”
“At the very moment life was about to begin—life was taken in the most brutal way,” Herzog said in a statement. “Terror won’t break the Israeli spirit. We will relentlessly track down terror wherever it hides. May her memory be a blessing.”
