Israeli medical authorities announced the death of the infant that was delivered prematurely in an emergency cesarean section earlier this week, after his mother was shot and seriously wounded in the Ofra Junction terror-attack on Sunday. The infant’s extended family were joined by dozens of mourners, who gathered at the funeral, which was held last night in absence of the baby’s parents – who sustained critical and moderate injuries during Sunday’s terror attack.
The drive-by shooting attack occurred on Sunday evening, when a group of Israelis participated in a Hanukkah candle-lighting ceremony, in memory of a victim of a car-accident near the Ofra junction. In CCTV footage, which was obtained by TV7, a white vehicle was seen slowing down near the bus-stop, when a suspected Palestinian terrorist opened fire toward the group of Israelis, wounding six of them, including the pregnant-mother who sustained severe injuries, forcing medical teams to perform an emergency delivery.
Meanwhile, in a speech to Foreign Media and diplomats stationed in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to continue the wide-scale manhunt for the baby’s killers. He stated: “We lost few hours ago a new born baby, four days old. We will find the killers, we haven’t stopped searching for them in these four days. We will find them and bring them to justice.” Just several hours after the Israeli leader vowed to avenge the baby’s death; Israel’s most elite counter-terrorism Police unit, YAMAM, announced that it had “shot and killed” two terrorists, including one that was responsible for Sunday’s deadly drive-by shooting attack and another who perpetrated the terror attack just over two months ago in the West Bank Barkan industrial zone, where two Israelis were brutally murdered. The Israeli Police Spokesman, Micky Rosenfeld, said: “During overnight operations by the Israeli National counter terrorism unit the ‘Yamam’ two terrorists were shot and killed both the terrorists were involved in recent terrorist attacks, one of the terrorist attacks that have taken place two Israelis were killed just over two months ago and in a second operation that took place the second terrorist that was killed was behind the shooting attack that took place few days ago where a woman was injured seriously and unfortunately her baby passes away in hospital.” In response to the successful operations, which also included the arrests of several suspects for terror related activities, Prime Minister Netanyahu released a statement in which he commended Israel’s security establishment and the YAMAM for “their impressive actions which led to the location and elimination of the abhorrent terrorist from the Barkan [Industrial Zone] attack and another terrorist who was involved in the attack at Ofra.”