Pregnant Israeli woman shot dead in West Bank on way to give birth

Telegraph

15-05-2025

A pregnant Israeli woman was shot dead by a Palestinian gunman on the way to deliver her baby.
The Israeli military has launched a manhunt for the attacker, who opened fire on vehicles outside the Israeli Bruchin Settlement, south west of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, on Wednesday night.
Tzeela Gez, 30, already a mother of three, was rushed to hospital near Tel Aviv following the shooting, where doctors performed an emergency caesarean section.
She died but the baby survived and is said to be in a serious condition. The victim's husband, Hananel, who was driving the car, was lightly wounded.
Some Israeli politicians called for the assailant's village to be flattened in response.
The military dispatched troops and a drone to the area and has reportedly encircled and blocked entrances to the nearby Palestinian town of Bruqin.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said he was 'deeply shocked by the horrific attack against a pregnant woman and her husband while they were making their way to the delivery room'.
'This despicable event reflects exactly the difference between us – those who cherish and bring life – and the despicable terrorists whose life's goal is to kill us and cut off lives.'
Israel Katz, the defence minister, said he ordered the military to 'identify the origin of the attackers and respond with maximum force'.
No armed group immediately claimed responsibility for the murder, although Hamas praised the attack as 'heroic'.
Gez's death is the latest in a surge in violence in the West Bank since the Oct 7 attacks in 2023.
Israeli security forces have arrested approximately 6,000 Palestinians across the territory since the massacre in southern Israel, including more than 2,350 with alleged affiliations to Hamas.
Fifty-two people, including security personnel, have been killed in incidents described as terror events in Israel and the West Bank since the atrocity.
The Palestinian Authority says that more than 950 Palestinians have been killed in that time.
There has also been a significant increase in violence from Israeli settlers on Palestinians since the start of the war in Gaza.
Reliable data is difficult to obtain, partly because, according to the alleged Palestinian victims, police make it difficult for them to record complaints.
But there has been a well documented increase, particularly in the last six months.
Bezalel Smotrich, Israel's ultra-nationalist finance minister, who comes from a West Bank settlement, called for the assailant's village to be destroyed.
'Just as we are flattening Rafah, Khan Younis and Gaza, we have to flatten the terror hubs of Judea and Samaria,' he said.
His comments followed what appeared to be a continued escalation of air strikes in northern Gaza.
The Strip's health ministry, which is controlled by Hamas, claimed 82 had been killed on Thursday. Other reports said 54 had been killed in overnight air strikes in the southern city of Khan Younis.
The figures are impossible to verify independently and no foreign media is allowed inside the territory.
The Israeli military has issued a number of evacuation orders in Gaza in recent days ahead of strikes aimed at eliminating Hamas rocket units and other terrorists.