Israeli Baby Delivered After Pregnant Mother’s Murder in Terror Attack Dies Following Two Weeks in Intensive Care
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by Ailin Vilches Arguello
On the left: Tzeela Gez, who was shot dead while in a car with her husband in the West Bank, as they were driving to hospital to give birth in May 2025. On the right: Hananel Gez holding his son, Ravid Chaim, who died two weeks after the terrorist attack. Photo: Screenshot
The infant son of Tzeela Gez, an Israeli mother of three who was fatally shot in a terrorist attack in the West Bank while on her way to give birth, died Thursday morning after two weeks in intensive care.
On May 15, Gez and her husband, Hananel, were on their way to the hospital to deliver their baby when a Palestinian terrorist opened fire on Israeli vehicles, critically wounding the pregnant mother and injuring her husband.
After the attack, the 30-year-old woman was quickly transported to Petah Tikva’s Rabin Medical Center in critical condition. Despite doctors’ efforts to save her, she was pronounced dead the next morning.
According to the hospital, Gez’s husband, who was driving the car, sustained minor injuries after his condition was initially reported as serious.
Doctors managed to deliver the baby, Ravid Chaim — a name Tzeela had chosen before the attack — via emergency C-section, but he had already suffered severe oxygen deprivation.
Despite intensive medical care, his condition remained critical, and he never regained full consciousness. After fighting for his life for more than two weeks, Ravid was pronounced dead Thursday morning at Schneider Children’s Medical Center. He was buried on Thursday evening next to his mother at Jerusalem’s Har HaMenuchot Cemetery.
Last week, Hananel described his son’s condition as being “between life and death” in an interview with Israel Hayom.
Shortly after the attack, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced an intensive search for the terrorist who fired on multiple vehicles, with Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir vowing to bring the perpetrators to justice.
About a week after Tzeela was murdered, the IDF confirmed that it had eliminated the killer, Nael Samara, during a counter-terrorism operation near the Jewish community of Bruchin in the northern West Bank.
In a post on X, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar shared the tragic news of Ravid’s death, while criticizing the international community for ignoring the terror attacks against Israeli settlers.
“Jews living in Judea and Samaria [the West Bank] are the most attacked population in the world by terrorism. Despite this, too many in the international community prefer to speak about ‘settler violence,’ instead of the terror against settlers,” the top Israeli diplomat said.
Tzeela Gez was brutally murdered while on her way to the hospital to give birth.
Doctors fought for the life of Ravid Chaim, her newborn baby, for two weeks. Tragically, he did not survive.
He passed away today.
Jews living in Judea and Samaria are the most attacked population… pic.twitter.com/hWiVx0FreS— Gideon Sa’ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) May 29, 2025
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed “great sorrow and pain” upon hearing the tragic news.
“There are no words that can comfort the murder of a newborn baby along with his mother,” the Israeli leader said in a post on X. “The heroism of the pioneers of settlement in Judea and Samaria, and their dedication is what will defeat all our enemies. Earth does not cover their blood.”
בצער ובכאב גדול התבשרנו הבוקר על מותו של התינוק רביד חיים, בנה של צאלה הי”ד וחננאל גז.
אין מילים שיכולות לנחם רצח של תינוק בן יומו יחד עם אימו.
גבורת חלוצי ההתיישבות ביהודה ושומרון ומסירות הנפש שלהם היא זו שתביס את כל אויבינו.
“ארץ אל תכסי דמם”.
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) May 29, 2025
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he spoke with Hananel, whom he praised as “a true Israeli hero,” to offer his support and solidarity.
“The entire people of Israel embrace him in his difficult time and pray that he finds comfort and solace together with his children and the entire family. May their memory be blessed,” Herzog said in a post on X.
תנחומים מעומק ליבי לחננאל גז ומשפחתו על מותו של התינוק רביד חיים ז״ל – שהוצא מרחם אימו צאלה ז״ל שנרצחה בפיגוע אכזרי סמוך לברוכין לפני כשבועיים, כשהייתה בדרכה לחדר הלידה. כמה התפללנו שרביד הקטן יוכל להשתקם ולחיות עם משפחתו האוהבת.
ביום שישי האחרון שוחחתי עם חננאל, גיבור ישראלי…
— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) May 29, 2025
