13-year-old Tamar Aharon was seriously injured in her head by a bullet in Kiryat Arba on Thursday, according to Hadassah-University Medical Center.
She was brought to a local clinic in Kiryat Arba and later evacuated by MDA medical teams to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem in critical condition.
The spokesperson for Kiryat Arba Hebron Council, Dudi Avitan, reported on Friday midday that Aharon was breathing on her own, adding that "the prayers of Am Yisrael together with the doctors of Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital" were critical in her healing process.
Dr. Morris Matityahu, a specialist in family medicine at a local medical clinic in Kiryat Arba, who gave Aharon initial medical treatment, said that the girl was brought by her sister to the entrance of the United Clinic, where her sister said that Tamar received a strong blow to the head from an unknown source.
"A cleaning worker who met her at the entrance took her in immediately, and while she was still conscious, brought her to a treatment room, where I gave her initial treatment and tried to locate the source of the bleeding which was very heavy. At the same time, an ambulance was called, which arrived within a few minutes, and upon its arrival, the girl lost consciousness, started convulsing, was treated immediately and evacuated," Dr. Matityahu said.
The bullet in question was identified as 7.62 caliber, a larger bullet caliber usually used in machine guns and sniper rifles in the West Bank.
Investigations into the source of the shooting
Although initial assessments suggest the bullet was fired from a large distance, it could not be confirmed where exactly it originated from or whether the shooting was intentional.
While the circumstances surrounding her injury are unclear, it is currently suspected that she was hit by a stray bullet, the IDF is investigating the circumstances of the incident.
This is a developing story.