Lives of Mother, Newborn in Danger After Samaria Shooting Attack

Palestinian terrorists shot seven Israelis, including a pregnant woman. She and her baby, delivered in an emergency C-section, are fighting for their lives. 

By: Max Gelber, United with Israel

A Palestinian terrorist on Sunday night fired at a group of Israelis waiting at a bus stop outside the Israeli community of Ofra, in the Binyamin region, wounding seven of them, including a 21-year-old woman in her 30th week of pregnancy.

The critically wounded woman, identified as Shira Ish-Ron, was hit in the upper body, and her husband, Amichai Ish-Ron, sustained injuries to his legs. They were rushed to Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem, where the baby was delivered in an emergency cesarean section.

The mother’s life was still in danger on Monday, while her baby boy’s situation deteriorated overnight.

“She arrived in a state of shock and had lost a lot of blood,” said Dr. Alon Schwartz, a surgeon at the hospital. “She has a gunshot wound in the lower stomach area.” She was said to be “fighting for her life.”

The other victims, including four 16-year-old teens, sustained light wounds and are in stable condition.

The assailants, driving in a white car, stopped near the Israelis and fired with an automatic weapon. IDF troops stationed at the bus stop fired back at the car, but the terrorists managed to escape to the nearby Palestinian town of Silwad. The IDF has launched a massive manhunt for the terror cell.

The attack occurred at the same site in which IDF soldier Elhai Taharlev, 20 of the Golani Brigade, was murdered in a car-ramming attack in April 2017. Two of the teens in the Sunday attack described how they hid behind a monument in his memory while the terrorists shot at them.

President Reuven Rivlin said he was “praying for the recovery of those injured in the despicable terrorist attack, including the young mother who brought life to the world from this hellish scene.”

Netanyahu vowed that “we will not rest until we find these murderous criminals and bring them to justice.”

He added that “everyone is praying for the recovery of a young mother who is fighting for her life, as well as her baby. We also wish a speedy recovery for all the wounded.”

TPS contributed to this report.