Jerusalem hospital delivers baby of pregnant Israeli woman shot in terror attack
Mother was in 30th week of pregnancy; baby transferred to premie ward in ‘good’ condition, hospital says; mother ‘fighting for her life’
Doctors successfully delivered the baby being carried by a 21-year-old Israeli woman late Sunday night, shortly after she was shot and critically hurt in a terrorist attack outside the West Bank settlement of Ofra.
The baby, who was delivered by Cesarean section in the 30th week of the pregnancy, was immediately transferred to the ward for premature babies at Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center, the hospital said, and was said to be in “stable” condition.
The woman was undergoing surgery late Sunday and was “fighting for her life,” the hospital said.
“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 gun shot wound in the lower stomach area,” he said adding that doctors continued to operate on her.
She was hit by gunfire from a passing car as she waited, among a crowd of people, at a bus stop outside the Israeli West Bank settlement of Ofra.
The woman suffered wounds to her upper body and was rushed to Shaare Zedek, the Magen David Adom paramedic service said.
A man, 21, with moderate wounds, was taken to the same hospital as were two others who had light injuries. Army Radio said the woman’s husband was among those lightly injured.
Another person, 22, with moderate injuries, and two 16-year-old girls with light injuries, were taken to Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem in the north of the capital, MDA said.
In security camera video of the shooting, posted to social media, a white car is seen slowing down near the bus stop, after which bullets can be seen striking the crowd who scramble for cover. The car, which comes to a stop for a few moments while the shooting apparently continues, then speeds off down the road as IDF soldiers are seen running to bus stop.
The car from which the shots were fired was believed to have at least two occupants.
The IDF launched a manhunt for the terrorists.
Paramedics who were in the MDA station nearby heard the shooting and immediately drove to the scene in an ambulance and began treating the victims.
Bus stops are also popular hitchhiking points often used by IDF soldiers looking for rides.
The northern entrance to al-Bireh, a town adjacent to Ramallah, was closed in both directions, the official Palestinian Authority news site Wafa reported as the IDF tried to locate the gunmen.
Two months ago, a Palestinian terrorist shot dead two Israelis at the Barkan Industrial Park. He is still on the run.
Jacob Magid contributed to this report.
