Israeli woman wounded in Palestinian attack loses baby

Israeli woman wounded in Palestinian attack loses baby

JERUSALEM - A baby who was delivered prematurely by emergency Caesarean section to an Israeli woman wounded in a Palestinian drive-by shooting died in hospital on Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

Shira Ish-Ran, seven months pregnant, her husband and five others were injured in Sunday's attack at a bus stop outside the Jewish settlement of Ofra in the occupied West Bank . Doctors said she was shot in the abdomen and that her son was born in critical condition.

The Palestinian gunman fled the scene, Israel said.

"My heart, our hearts, are with Shira and Avihai at the death of a four-day-old baby who does not even have a name," Netanyahu told foreign media and diplomats in a speech. "The security forces are in pursuit of the murderer."

After he spoke, Israel's Shin Bet security service said troops shot and wounded a suspected militant who tried to evade arrest near the Palestinian city of Ramallah. It said he was in custody, but did not immediately confirm or deny Israeli media reports that he was sought in connection with the Ofra attack.

The West Bank has seen simmering violence over long-stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

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