11-Year-Old Ayala Shapira Faces Medical Ordeal After Firebomb Attack
Two Palestinian teens were arrested in connection with the firebomb attack on a West Bank road that left an 11-year-old Israeli girl fighting for her life.
The Israel Defense Forces and the Shin Bet security service said in a statement released Saturday night that the two were arrested Thursday night in the hours following the attack in the village of Azzoun, located next to Maale Shomron, the home of Ayala Shapira, 11, and her father, Avner, of the El Matan outpost, who also was injured in the attack.
One of the arrested teens confessed to throwing the firebomb, according to the IDF.
Ten other Palestinians from the village reportedly were taken in for questioning.
Ayala Shapira, who suffered third-degree burns over most of her body, remained in serious but stable condition on Saturday night, according to reports.
Doctors at the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv reportedly operated on her Saturday, the first of many operations that she will require.
“I told her parents the struggle will be long, and the beginning consists of stabilizing her, reviving her, and getting her to a state where we can begin to reconstruct her face,” Prof. Eyal Winkler, director of the Plastic Surgery Department at Sheba Medical Center, told Ynet. “In this kind of situation, hospitalization last two to three months, and facial reconstruction can lost even longer. But we are full of desire to succeed and are optimistic.”
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
