The Israel Defense Forces apprehended several Palestinians on Saturday, suspects in the murder of Tzeela Gez in Samaria as she and her husband drove to a delivery room three days ago.
“As part of the IDF and Shin Bet manhunt for the terrorist who carried out the shooting attack …, IDF soldiers, guided by the Shin Bet, carried out targeted searches in the village of Bruqin, near the scene of the attack,” the Israeli military tweeted on Saturday, referring to an Arab town located in western Samaria.
“During the arrest of one of the suspects, a terrorist was spotted running toward the forces while holding a bag suspected to be booby-trapped and shouting ‘Allahu Akbar.’
“In light of the immediate threat, the soldiers engaged with and neutralized the terrorist. No casualties were reported among our forces,” the IDF said.
The military added that an inquiry into Wednesday’s terrorist attack was still underway.
Gez’s baby was delivered in the hospital. The Rabin Medical Center’s Beilinson Hospital said the neonatal unit at its Schneider Children’s Medical Center in Petach Tikvah “fought all night for his life.”
The mother was pronounced dead the following morning.
On Friday morning, Schneider issued a statement saying that the condition of the baby boy remained serious but has stabilized.
“The baby was admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit at Schneider in very serious condition and underwent intensive treatment overnight by a multidisciplinary hospital team that fought to stabilize him. The baby’s condition is currently classified as serious. We share in the family’s grief,” said Dr. Omer Niv, deputy director of Schneider, per Israel Hayom.
In the wake of the murder, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated, “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,” the prime minister said.
The Yesha Council stated in Hebrew that it is “shocked and saddened by the terrible attack in Samaria and embrace the family at this difficult time.
“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. “We have been warning about this for a long time.”