On a road meant to lead to new life, Tzeela Gez’s journey was cruelly ended. On Wednesday, May 14th, Tzeela, 38 weeks pregnant and on her way to deliver her fourth child, was killed in a targeted terrorist attack just outside her home near Bethlehem.
Her husband, Hananel Israel, sat beside her in the vehicle at the time of the attack, his world fracturing as he witnessed her final moments. This is the story of a woman whose light touched countless souls, a family torn apart, and a husband whose faith in Hashem remains a pillar of strength amid unimaginable grief.
What Happened to Tzeela
Tzeela was a therapist whose life’s mission was to mend broken spirits. With a master’s degree in movement therapy and advanced psychotherapy training, she ran private clinics in Jerusalem and at her home, counseled globally via Zoom, and trained thousands of therapists, coaches, and psychologists.
Her WhatsApp group of over 1,000 professionals was a hub for matching people with care, and her videos on TikTok and Facebook offered tools for healing trauma, anxiety, depression, and more. She was a mother who paused everything for her three children, aged 6, 7, and 10, giving them her full presence, and a wife who taught Hananel to cherish life’s lessons over petty disputes.
That evening, Tzeela, despite a grueling pregnancy marked by complications like symphysis pubis dysfunction and a near-fatal anemia scare at 29 weeks, decided to head to the hospital in Jerusalem for a planned procedure to induce labor.
At around 9:30 p.m., she and Hananel packed their minivan, including a baby seat for their expected son, whom they had planned to name Ravid. As they drove out of their yishuv, a green laser flickered from a nearby hill, a sinister prelude. Seconds later, a gunshot tore through the windshield, striking Tzeela in the neck, chest, and arm. Hananel, pierced by shrapnel in his hand and chest, saw her slump instantly, blood pooling as the car veered toward disaster.
In a surge of instinct, Hananel grabbed the steering wheel, pressed the brake, and stopped the vehicle. He pressed desperately on Tzeela’s wounds, blood seeping through his fingers, and called for help. Security forces and ambulances arrived within minutes, rushing Tzeela to one ambulance and Hananel to another.
At the hospital, doctors performed an emergency C-section. Tzeela was pronounced dead, with her baby in critical condition. Hananel faced the unbearable truth: his wife was gone.
The attack, traced to a terrorist from the nearby Arab village of Bruqin, was meticulously planned, involving multiple accomplices. By Shabbat (May 17th), the IDF had identified and neutralized the shooter, Nael Samara, who was preparing another attack, and apprehended his network. A chilling coincidence emerged: the lead soldier in the operation shared the name Ravid, a moment that brought Hananel to tears, seeing divine signs amid his sorrow.
Tzeela’s legacy lives on. Her corneas, donated with Hananel’s approval, restored sight to a four-year-old Jewish boy and a 40-year-old Jewish man. Her teachings continue to guide, with videos and closed classes now shared publicly, helping others navigate trauma, including, poignantly, Hananel’s brother, who used Tzeela’s breathing exercises to cope with her loss.
