Condition of baby delivered prematurely after terror attack worsens
After 7-months-pregnant woman wounded in drive-by shooting at Ofra Junction, doctors had to deliver baby early; his condition deteriorated early Monday morning, and he was put on a ventilator.
The mother, 21, who was 30 weeks pregnant, lost a lot of blood after being hit in her lower abdomen and pelvis. She underwent surgery, during which the baby was delivered in emergency Caesarean section. Both mother and baby are fighting for their lives. The baby's father was also hurt in the attack and is in stable condition.
"During the night, the baby's condition deteriorated at the NICU, and he was put on a ventilator. There's concern of brain damage. He's undergoing imaging tests now, and we're fighting for his life," Dr. Alon Schwartz, a senior trauma surgeon at the hospital, told Ynet.
Meanwhile, a 22-year-old man who was moderately wounded in the attack also underwent surgery and his condition is now defined as light-to-moderate.
A total of seven Israelis were wounded in the drive-by shooting on Saturday night near the Ofra Junction in the West Bank. A Palestinian terrorist opened fire at a group of people lighting Hanukkah candles in memory of a car accident victim at a bus stop near the junction.
IDF troops stationed nearby opened fire at the vehicle, but it was able to flee the scene.
IDF, Border Police and security services launched extensive searches in the villages in the area as part of the hunt for the terrorists.
Forces arrived in Silwad, a Palestinian town located nearby, and seized security cameras from local businesses in an effort to locate the perpetrators. Silwan, which is affiliated with Hamas, is home to the Hammad clan—a West Bank family with close ties to the terrorist organization.
