IDF forces continue their manhunt Friday morning for the terrorist who carried out the deadly shooting attack near Bruchin, which left a pregnant mother dead and her husband lightly wounded.
Alongside the pursuit and intelligence efforts, engineering units are conducting ground excavations near Route 446 to aid in the ongoing search and to enhance the area’s security.
Military officials commented earlier on the attack, calling it a significant failure. “When a terrorist murders a woman, and injures her unborn child and her husband, and we fail to prevent it — that’s our failure,” they told Kan Reshet Bet.
The IDF assesses that the terrorist, whose identity remains unknown and is still at large, possesses advanced skills and forensic knowledge.
The central question within the IDF is whether this was an isolated incident or part of a larger trend. “We’re doing everything possible to prevent a recurrence, including checkpoints based on operational needs and where they are effective. Six training companies — equivalent to four battalions — were deployed to the area.”
“We’ve reinforced the defense effort. The troops will remain until the situation changes. Forces are working around the clock to find the terrorist and other terrorists. We are raiding homes, conducting surveillance, and continuing our ongoing, intensive operations across the region, targeting weapons and arresting terrorists with results we haven’t seen in at least a decade,” the officials added.
The IDF’s investigation revealed that a spotter identified the terrorist firing at the Gez couple and immediately issued a “hot hammer” (terror attack) alert. The terrorist fled the scene immediately after the shooting, launching the ongoing manhunt. The IDF confirmed that the terrorist was not identified upon his arrival at the scene, but only once the shooting began.
Tze’ela Gez, a resident of Bruchin, was murdered while in a vehicle with her husband on the way to the delivery room. The terrorist ambushed Israeli vehicles traveling the road, opened fire, and wounded both. At the hospital, Tze’ela was pronounced dead. Doctors delivered the baby via emergency Cesarean section and are still fighting to save his life. Her husband Hananel sustained light injuries.
Tze’ela was laid to rest Thursday. In his eulogy, her husband said: “I stand here with a broken heart, but I am full of love. I thank G-d that I had the privilege of being with you for 11 years. Last night I didn’t know it would be our last time together. Words can’t describe what you meant to me and our children. You dedicated your life to healing souls, saying it was a matter of life and death.”
