Pregnant Israeli Woman Murdered in West Bank Terror Attack While En Route to Give Birth

FDD | May 15, 2025

Latest Developments

• Terrorist Fired at Passing Vehicles: A pregnant 30-year-old Israeli woman has been murdered in a terrorist attack in the West Bank as her husband drove her to the hospital to deliver their baby. Tzeela Gez was killed and her husband, Hananel, was lightly wounded after a terrorist opened fire on the couple’s car as they traveled from their home in the northern West Bank community of Bruchin. Doctors performed an emergency C-section to deliver the baby, who is now in intensive care. Hamas praised the shooting but did not claim responsibility for carrying out the attack.

• 5 Terrorists Killed in Tamun: In the northern West Bank city of Tamun, IDF Duvdevan unit commandos exchanged fire with a group of gunmen barricaded inside a building, killing at least five and detaining one suspect. Several assault rifles and other military equipment were recovered at the scene, the IDF said on May 15. In a separate operation in nearby Tubas, undercover Border Police officers raided an apartment and arrested the head of an unidentified local terror network along with a senior operative. Authorities reported that the two suspects were involved in arming terrorists and planning attacks and that officers seized six assault rifles, a handgun, four grenades, and additional military equipment during the raid.
• PA Forces Shoot Terrorist Dead: In a separate operation in Tubas, Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces killed Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) operative Rami Zahran on May 13. PA spokesperson Anwar Rajab said that Palestinian security forces responded to gunfire as they carried out an arrest operation. Both Hamas and PIJ accused the PA of murdering Zahran.

FDD Expert Response

“The murder of an Israeli mother on her way to the hospital to give birth is a new escalation by terrorists in the northern West Bank. It is also further evidence of the challenge Israel’s security forces face in countering weapons smuggling to terrorist groups. Rifles and other weapons have helped increase the lethality of these organizations. Israel must be supported in its campaign to counter the threats in the West Bank and crack down on terrorists there.” — Seth J. Frantzman, FDD Adjunct Fellow

“Since the Palestinian Authority began taking meaningful action against Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives in the northern West Bank earlier this year, these armed groups have sharply criticized the administration of PA President Mahmoud Abbas. Nevertheless, the PA’s actions are fully justified. Despite Hamas’s rhetoric promoting Palestinian unity, the group and its Iran-backed allies have spent the past four years deliberately working to erode the Palestinian Authority’s rule to oust the Abbas-led government.” — Joe Truzman, Senior Research Analyst and Editor at FDD’s Long War Journal

FDD Background and Analysis

“Lowest Number of Monthly Attacks in 5 Years Recorded in West Bank,” FDD Flash Brief

“Islamic Jihad Terrorist Involved in the Murders of Three Israelis Eliminated by IDF,” FDD Flash Brief

“IDF Demolishes 23 Buildings Housing Terrorist Infrastructure in Jenin,” FDD Flash Brief

“Mapping Terrorism in the West Bank,” by Joe Truzman