Tzeela Gez, a 33-year-old therapist from the settlement of Bruchin, was shot to death Wednesday night in a terrorist attack in the northern West Bank while en route to the hospital to give birth. She was buried in Jerusalem late Thursday afternoon.
Doctors at Rabin Medical Center performed an emergency C-section, delivering her baby in critical condition. The infant was transferred to Schneider Children's Medical Center, where he remains in intensive care. The attack took place on Route 446, near the settlements of Peduel and Bruchin.
Tzeela’s husband, Hananel, sustained light injuries and managed to call for help. In a voice message to a family WhatsApp group, he said: “It’s a sad day. My wife was murdered last night. We were on our way to the hospital to joyfully welcome our fourth child. I’m obviously shattered but I thank God that I’m alive and promise to stay strong. They will never break us.”
Eyewitness Elia Carmi, a resident of Peduel who arrived moments after the attack, described a harrowing scene: “I saw a wrecked car on the road, lights and windows shattered. I slowed down and then I heard the husband yelling, ‘Help us, save us.’ He was completely terrified.”
Carmi said Tzeela was slumped in the driver’s seat and unresponsive. “He was trying to stop her bleeding, fighting for her life. He told me, ‘They shot at us, they shot at us.’”
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Elia noted that when he asked Hananel if there were other children in the car, he responded, “No, only one child — inside her belly.” Carmi described the encounter as deeply traumatic: “When someone screams for help, you don’t think, you act. But once I saw her, I knew there was nothing I could do for her. So I focused on helping her husband.”
Security forces launched a large-scale manhunt for the shooter, initially believed to have fired from a passing vehicle. However, updated intelligence suggests the attacker was a lone gunman who fired from the roadside and fled on foot. Special forces, including paratrooper and commando units, have been deployed. Aerial surveillance is being used and nearby Palestinian villages have been sealed off.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir arrived at the scene Thursday morning with Central Command head Maj. Gen. Yehuda Fox and other senior officers. “This was a painful and brutal attack,” Zamir said. “A civilian on her way to give birth was murdered. We will hunt down the terrorists and hold them and their senders accountable.”
Tzeela was a well-known therapist specializing in trauma and anxiety. She frequently shared messages of hope and resilience with her followers online.
In a recent post, she reflected on the ongoing hardships in Israel, writing: “There’s been so much darkness for so long. Who would believe the hostages are still there? So many families grieving. So many women without their husbands. We must surround ourselves with light, think good thoughts and stay hopeful. We’re all light in this world — or at least we can be.”
In another video posted weeks ago, she said: “Life is suffering — but it doesn’t have to be this way. We don’t choose our pain but we can choose how to deal with it. It’s okay to want joy. Start small. Care for yourselves. When we do good for ourselves, our suffering can take on new shapes.”