Jerusalem woman in serious condition, ex allegedly set her on fire

A woman in her 30s was seriously injured on Wednesday morning in a suspected arson attack in the Gilo neighborhood of Jerusalem, leaving her unconscious and intubated after her ex allegedly set her on fire and then drove her car into a wall, killing himself.

Israel Police received a report of a woman covered in severe burns after having been set on fire. Shortly thereafter, they received another report that the woman's car was driven into a wall near Rachel's Tomb, outside of Gilo, by her ex-partner.

The driver was pronounced dead at the scene and the incident is being treated as self-inflicted, Israel Police have said.

In the meantime, the woman was evacuated to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital by medical personnel of United Hatzalah after "suffering from severe burns on most parts of her body," according to the medics who treated her.

Hadassah later reported that most of the burns were inflicted upon her torso and the upper half of her body. She is now unconscious and intubated.

Femicide on the rise

According to a January report by the Israel Observatory on Femicide (IOF), Israel is seeing a dramatic increase in femicide, or the murder of women, as of late. A total of 24 women were murdered in femicide cases in Israel throughout 2022, averaging two femicide murders every month.

The 2022 report marks a concerning increase in femicide cases, which are up by 50% from 2021.

Shira Silkoff contributed to this report.