UK-Israeli mother wounded in West Bank attack dies

A British-Israeli woman who was wounded in a suspected Palestinian gun attack on Friday in which two of her daughters were killed has died.

Lucy Dee, 45, had been in a coma since the attack in the occupied West Bank.

Her daughters Rina, 15, and Maia, 20, were buried on Sunday in the settlement of Kfar Etzion in front of their father and three siblings.

The family moved to Israel nine years ago from the UK, where Lucy’s husband had served as a rabbi in north London.

Thousands of mourners attended the emotionally charged funeral of the sisters. In his eulogy Rabbi Leo Dee asked: “How will I explain to Lucy what has happened to our two precious gifts, Maia and Rina, when she wakes up from her coma?”

Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem announced that Lucy (who was also known by her Hebrew name, Leah) Dee had died on Monday morning “despite great and constant efforts”.

Lucy, Rina and Maia were shot at as they were driving in the Jordan Valley in the northern West Bank on their way to a family holiday. Their vehicle crashed and the gunmen went up to the car and opened fire on the women at close range, Israeli media quoted investigators as saying.

Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported that 22 bullet casings were found, apparently from a Kalashnikov assault rifle.

Rabbi Dee told the BBC he was further ahead in a separate car when someone called him with news of the attack. He said he tried to call his wife and daughters but they did not answer. He then saw pictures online of the attacked car and recognised one of their suitcases on the back seat.

The emergency services were already at the scene of the attack, near the settlement of Hamra, when he got there.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted that he sent his “heartfelt condolences to the Dee family, on the death of the mother of the family, Leah (Lucy), who was murdered in the severe terror attack in the [Jordan] valley”.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a hunt for the perpetrators following the attack, which came at a time of spiralling tensions between Israel and the Palestinians.