Terror attack in Samaria - Israeli woman murdered on her way to delivery room: 'She wanted a quiet life'

Tzeela Gez, a resident of the community of Bruchin, was the woman murdered last night in the shooting attack near the community, close to Ariel. Terrorists ambushed the vehicle in which she was on her way to the delivery room, and opened fire at her, critically wounding her. She was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

Beilinson Hospital announced that Tzeela Gez was declared dead after a difficult and complex night, and that doctors are still fighting for the life of her baby. Her husband, Hananel, who was in the car with her, sustained light injuries.

“The heart is broken. The entire community of Bruchin is mourning and in pain over the murder of our friend Tzeela,” a statement from Bruchin read. “Once again, we are forced to pay with blood for being Jews living in our land. But our brothers' blood will not be in vain – we will continue to build, to hold on to the land, and to increase the light and life here in Bruchin and throughout the land.”

“Tzeela was a devoted, beloved, and smiling woman who only wanted to live a quiet life – and was murdered on her way to bring life into the world,” said Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan in his eulogy for her. “This is a recurring site of attacks, and the response from the State of Israel cannot stop at a press release.”

He called on authorities: “I demand that the security system act in this area the same way they do in Gaza – flatten the terror nests.”

The security establishment believes that a lone terrorist carried out the shooting attack and then fled to the nearby village of Bruqin. IDF forces surrounded the Palestinian villages near the scene of the attack and placed blockades in the area. Air Force aircraft were also dispatched to the region.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to the attack:

"I am deeply shocked by the horrific terrorist attack against a woman in advanced pregnancy and her husband. This abhorrent incident precisely reflects the difference between us, [we] who desire and bring life, and the reprehensible terrorists, whose goal is to kill us and destroy life. I am relying on the security forces which, in this case as well, will quickly find the murderers and settle accounts with them and whoever assisted them."