An Israeli woman en route to a hospital for childbirth was shot and killed in the West Bank on Wednesday, an incident that Hamas labeled a “heroic act.”
Health officials reported that the baby boy survived after being delivered via emergency cesarean section and is currently in “serious but stable” condition. Although no Palestinian militant group claimed responsibility for the attack, a Hamas spokesman praised the shooting in a public statement.
Israeli officials condemned the incident as an act of terrorism and initiated a search for the perpetrator. This shooting occurred amid increasing violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where approximately 500,000 Israeli settlers coexist with around three million Palestinians.
Israeli forces have intensified raids against militant groups in various Palestinian cities over the past year, resulting in hundreds of Palestinian fatalities and displacing tens of thousands. Since January, Israeli forces have occupied parts of two significant Palestinian cities, demolishing buildings and forcing many residents to flee.
On Thursday, Israeli forces reportedly killed at least five Palestinians in the West Bank during a firefight, according to both Israeli military sources and Palestinian health officials, who stated that the individuals killed were armed.
The deceased woman, Tzeela Gez, 30, was a therapist and mother of three. She had left her home in the Israeli settlement of Bruchin on Wednesday night to give birth when a Palestinian gunman fired on their vehicle, according to the Israeli military. Her husband, Hananel Gez, sustained injuries during the attack.
When paramedics arrived, Mr. Gez, still conscious, informed them about his wife’s impending delivery. Dr. Asnat Walfisch, head of the obstetrics and gynecology division at Beilinson Hospital, noted that Ms. Gez was transported to the operating room shortly after the shooting, where doctors confirmed the baby had a pulse.
Emergency surgery was performed quickly, and within a minute, the child was delivered. Dr. Walfisch explained that the rapid removal of the child increases the chances of survival for both the mother and the newborn. Despite efforts to resuscitate Ms. Gez, she succumbed to her injuries, while the baby was transferred to the neonatal intensive-care unit at Schneider Children’s Medical Center.
After the shooting, Hamas issued a statement praising the attack and urging Palestinians to conduct more operations against what they termed the occupation. The group did not confirm whether one of its fighters was involved.
The Israeli military subsequently encircled Palestinian villages near the location of the attack. In response to Ms. Gez’s killing, far-right Israeli politicians called for punitive measures in the West Bank, with Bezalel Smotrich, a hard-line minister, suggesting the destruction of Palestinian villages he labeled “terror nests.”
In addition to these events, Palestinians have faced violence from extremist Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, with some incidents resulting in fatalities.