Relatives and friends of 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, mourn during her funeral in Jerusalem, May 15, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

Hamas sparked global outrage after lauding the murder of a pregnant Israeli mother of three — shot in the West Bank on her way to the hospital to give birth — as “historic,” amid a surge in violence and ongoing efforts by mediators to reach a ceasefire in Gaza.

Shortly after the shooting terrorist attack near the West Bank town of Bruqin, Abu Obaida, spokesperson for the Qassam Brigades — the military wing of the Palestinian terrorist group — issued a statement praising the assault.

“We commend the heroic shooting operation near Bruqin, west of Salfit, carried out by the brave members of our people in the West Bank,” Obaida said.

“We call on our people to rise up against the occupation in defense of Al-Aqsa, to confront the aggression in the West Bank and its refugee camps, and to support their steadfast brothers and sisters in Gaza,” he continued.

On Wednesday, a Palestinian terrorist opened fire on Israeli vehicles in the northern West Bank, fatally wounding a pregnant woman and injuring her husband as they made their way to the hospital to deliver their baby.

After the attack, the 30-year-old woman, identified as Tzeela Gez, was quickly transported to Petah Tikva’s Rabin Medical Center in critical condition. Despite doctors’ efforts to save her, she was pronounced dead early Thursday morning.

With an emergency C-section, doctors managed to deliver her baby, who is now in stable condition but continues to fight for his life.

According to the hospital, her husband Hananel, who was driving the car, sustained minor injuries after his condition was initially reported as serious.

Gez’s funeral took place at Jerusalem’s Givat Shaul Cemetery at 5.30 pm on Thursday.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry condemned the attack and described Hamas’s celebration of the murder of Gez — who was in her ninth month of pregnancy — as “sickening” in a statement posted on the social media platform X.

United States Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee also condemned the assault, saying it “shows Hamas is proud to stand behind cold-blooded murder.”

“The savage & uncivilized contempt for a pregnant woman & her baby reveals what Israel is fighting [for],” the American diplomat said.

The savage & uncivilized contempt for a pregnant woman & her baby reveals what @Israel is fighting as per report from @IsraelMFA that show Hamas is proud to stand behind cold-blooded murder. https://t.co/GJIkHYBdBF

— Ambassador Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) May 15, 2025

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.

“This is a difficult and painful attack in which an Israeli civilian was killed on her way to a delivery room,” Zamir said in a statement. “I share in the deep sorrow of the family.”

“We are engaged in broad fighting against terror in Judea and Samaria [the West Bank] and we will continue,” the statement read. “We will activate all our tools, and we will reach the murderers to bring them to justice.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also condemned the shooting, saying he was “deeply shocked by the horrific terrorist attack.”

“This abhorrent incident precisely reflects the difference between us, who desire and bring life, and the reprehensible terrorists, whose goal is to kill us and destroy life,” the Israeli leader said in the statement released by his office.

אני מזועזע עמוקות מהירצחה של צאלה גז, זכרה לברכה, בפיגוע המחריד בשומרון.

צאלה, שהייתה בהריון מתקדם, עשתה דרכה עם בעלה חננאל לחדר לידה בזמן שהמרצחים ירו בהם באכזריות.

האירוע הנתעב הזה משקף בדיוק את ההבדל בינינו – חפצי ומביאי החיים – לבין המחבלים השפלים שמטרת חייהם היא להרוג בנו… pic.twitter.com/jkWr5K2Ge1

— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) May 15, 2025

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz extended his condolences to the Gez family and offered prayers for the newborn baby’s recovery.

“We will continue to fight terror with great force” in all areas of the West Bank and “will not allow it to raise its head,” he said in a statement.