Mom, 33, died shielding her 9-month-old son as terrorists shot and stabbed people in Tel Aviv

Editor’s note: Warning, graphic descriptions and images

Among the victims of Tuesday terrorist attack in Tel Aviv was Inbar Segev-Vigder, a new mother who died protecting her nine-month old baby.

“Murdered while shielding her 9 month old son Ari,” the State of Israel wrote on the social media platform X. “She saved his life. There are no words. Only heartbreak. May the memory of the victims be a blessing.”

She is survived by her husband, Yeari, and their child, the Times of Israel reported. “I had been serving in Gaza, and I came specifically to be with her for the birth,” Yeari told the Times. “She was my greatest love and a great mother, full of light and love.”

Segev-Vigder, 33, and six others were killed when two Palestinian terrorists shot and stabbed people at a train station in Jaffa, an ancient port city that is now part of Tel Aviv. Sixteen more were wounded in the attack.

Authorities said another of the dead was 30-year-old Shahar Goldman, a professional dancer who got married just last year. Revital Bronstein, 24, Nadia Sokolenko, 40, Ilia Nozadze, 42, and Jonas Chrosis, 26, were also killed. The other vitim has not yet been named.

In a separate post on X, the State of Israel wrote that Chrosis, a Greek-Israeli architecture student, was described by a friend as “the perfect combination of playful silliness and the most innocent childlike nature in the world, along with deep seriousness and creativity.”

The friend also told Israel’s Channel 12: “He expressed infinite optimism in the face of every difficulty that came his way. He was talented, funny, and humble. He was always kind to the people around him and was a loyal friend who saw the good in everyone. He was a talented piano player.”

Bronstein, meanwhile, was eulogized on Wednesday by Bat Yam mayor Zvika Brot as “a brilliant programmer and a gifted comic book artist,” the Times of Israel reported.

Police told the Washington Post in a statement that the terrorists had entered a stopped railcar and opened fire at the passengers before continuing on foot toward Jerusalem Boulevard, “hitting passersby until they were neutralized” by local authorities and residents who used their “personal pistols.”

Police named the terrorists as Muhammad Masek, 19, who was killed, and Ahmed Himoni, 25, who was seriously injured. Both were residents of Hebrona city in the West Bank some 70 kilometres from Tel Aviv. They were armed with an “M16 weapon, cartridges and a knife,” the authorities said.

The knife and gun attack occurred just ahead of a large-scale missile attack from Iran. On Wednesday, Hamas took responsibility for the attack, saying the two perpetrators were members of the terror group.