Israel
JC Israel Briefing Day 587: Pregnant mother killed by Hamas en route to hospital
Plus, Netanyahu balances Trump pressure with domestic demands as ceasefire talks make progress
May 15, 2025 08:25
Plus, Netanyahu balances Trump pressure with domestic demands as ceasefire talks make progress
May 15, 2025 08:25This story first appeared as today’s Israel briefing newsletter. You can sign up to receive it daily here.
Terrorists murdered a young woman who was on her way to hospital to give birth, in what Israel’s president called “a spine-chilling, horrific act of terror that shakes us to the core.” Tzeela Gez, 30, was heading to a planned caesarean when a Palestinian gunman opened fire on her car. Her husband, Hananel, was driving her along Route 446 in the West Bank. She was critically wounded and taken to Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva, where doctors performed an emergency C-section. She died shortly after.
The baby – her fourth child – was delivered in serious condition and transferred to Schneider Children’s Hospital. Gez was in her ninth month of pregnancy. The family lives in the Bruchin settlement. A manhunt is underway to locate the attacker. Entrances to the nearby Palestinian town of Bruqin have been sealed.
President Isaac Herzog said: “The murder of Tzeela Gez, on her way to give birth at the hospital, is a spine-chilling, horrific act of terror that shakes us to the core. At the very moment life was about to begin — life was taken in the most brutal way.
"My heart goes out to her grieving family and all her loved ones who are in deep shock. We’re all praying now for the baby’s health and for the recovery of her injured husband, Hananel. Terror won’t break the Israeli spirit. We will relentlessly track down terror wherever it hides."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the murder an “abhorrent incident” which “precisely reflects the difference between us, who desire and bring life, and the reprehensible terrorists, whose goal is to kill us and destroy life.”
He said security forces “will quickly reach the murderers and hold them and all who aided them to account”.
In other news, the Trump team is reportedly applying major pressure on Israel to reach a breakthrough in hostage-ceasefire talks within days, according to Israeli media.
US envoy Steve Witkoff held a two-hour phone call with Netanyahu yesterday, urging him to accept the second phase of the current truce proposal, which includes ending full-scale combat. Channel 12 reported Netanyahu “would not commit to a clause that ends the war”. Reports indicate Hamas has shown limited openness to disarmament if a permanent end to the war is secured.
US and Hamas negotiators are also understood to be advancing talks on a phased ceasefire tied to a full hostage release. The proposal includes staggered releases and gradual military de-escalation but does not yet compel Israel to formally end the war.
One senior Israeli official was quoted saying that if Netanyahu accepts the plan, he could lose his coalition. Far-right ministers have threatened to resign, potentially collapsing the government if the war is ended. Security cabinet members said the prime minister will be judged on “resisting Trump pressure,” not just on the deal itself.
But former hostages and relatives are also increasing pressure. Sixty-eight ex-captives signed a public letter urging Netanyahu to “seal the deal”. Several families met Qatari officials Tuesday and called for stronger US involvement.
Hostage envoy Gal Hirsch said diplomacy had freed “more captives than military raids,” and warned delays could cost more lives. US officials have warned that if talks collapse again, “Israel risks losing American support in key forums.”
Elsewhere, in Gaza, Israeli forces struck Hamas military commander Muhammad Sinwar in a major airstrike on tunnels beneath Khan Younis. His death is not confirmed, but Israeli sources believe he was likely killed in the blast.
Sinwar is the younger brother of Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s former Gaza leader, who was killed in October after masterminding the October 7 massacre.
Muhammad Sinwar took over Hamas’s military wing after the assassination of Mohammed Deif. Though seen as the group’s top man inside Gaza, officials said he lacked his brother’s influence and had little involvement in negotiations.
There have also been reports that Abu Obaida, the group’s chief spokesperson, was killed in the strike. If the deaths of both he and Sinwar are confirmed, it likely will be one of the most significant single acts of the war.