By: Fern Sidman

In a harrowing act of terror that has shocked the nation, an Israeli woman on her way to the hospital to give birth was shot and killed in Samaria late Wednesday night. According to reports confirmed by The Jewish News Syndicate (JNS), 30-year-old Tzeela Gez was critically wounded when Palestinian terrorists opened fire on her and her husband, Hananel, as they traveled on Route 446 near the community of Bruchin. Despite immediate medical efforts, Gez succumbed to her injuries early Thursday. Her newborn son, delivered in emergency surgery at Rabin Medical Center’s Beilinson Hospital, remains in serious but stable condition.

The JNS report noted that the neonatal team at Schneider Children’s Medical Center “fought all night for his life,” reflecting the gravity of the medical emergency as doctors battled to save the infant born under the most tragic of circumstances.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his outrage and heartbreak in a public statement, declaring: “I am deeply shocked by the horrific attack in Samaria, targeting a heavily pregnant woman and her husband as they were on their way to the delivery room. This vile act precisely reflects the difference between us—those who cherish and bring life—and the despicable terrorists whose very purpose is to kill us and cut lives short.” Netanyahu vowed that Israeli security forces “will swiftly reach the murderers and hold them and anyone who aided them accountable,” emphasizing Israel’s uncompromising stance on terrorism.

President Isaac Herzog echoed these sentiments, telling JNS and other media outlets: “The murder of Tzeela Gez, on her way to give birth at the hospital, is 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 offered condolences to Gez’s family and called for continued prayers for the recovery of her wounded husband and the infant.

According to the JNS report, Magen David Adom emergency services were dispatched to Route 446, where the shooting occurred. Paramedics found Tzeela in critical condition and her husband Hananel with gunshot wounds. Both were evacuated under emergency conditions to the hospital, but despite life-saving efforts, Tzeela was pronounced dead hours later.

The terrorist attack occurred between Bruchin and Peduel, a region approximately 10 miles east of Petah Tikva. The Israel Defense Forces have launched an extensive manhunt across Samaria to locate the shooter or shooters responsible.

JNS also reported on the grim reaction from the Hamas terror organization, which issued a statement on Arabic-language social media calling the shooting “heroic.” The glorification of such attacks by Palestinian factions continues to escalate tensions, even as Israel’s military and government face mounting challenges on multiple fronts.

The Yesha Council, representing Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, issued a forceful statement, calling for a more aggressive security posture. “The only way to prevent such serious attacks is to turn the city centers and villages, from which the murderers emerge, into ruins,” the council said, as per the report at JNS. “We have been warning about this for a long time.”

The council also criticized current security protocols, arguing that “if the army continues to invest enormous efforts to capture a lone terrorist or a weapons cache and does not change the security perception on the ground, the State of Israel and its citizens will continue to be in danger.” JNS reported that they urged Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to take bold action and swiftly overhaul the military’s operational approach in Judea and Samaria.

As of Thursday afternoon, no arrests have been made, but the IDF has launched a region-wide sweep for the terrorist. Surveillance footage, intelligence intercepts, and checkpoints have been deployed as Israeli forces tighten their net in the surrounding Arab villages, determined to bring those responsible to justice.

While Israel mourns yet another innocent life lost to terror, the tragedy of Tzeela Gez’s murder—cut down at the threshold of motherhood—has reignited a painful national conversation on deterrence, border control, and the rising frequency of lone-wolf and organized attacks on civilians.

Attacks targeting Israelis in Judea and Samaria have been on the rise over the past year, even as Israel contends with broader regional threats. The heartbreaking loss of Tzeela Gez and the critical condition of her newborn son serve as another stark reminder that the battle for security is not abstract—it is measured in lives, families, and futures shattered by hatred.