Israeli mother shot dead shielding her baby from Tel Aviv gunmen

An Israeli mom shot dead by terrorists near Tel Aviv died while shielding her nine-month-old baby from the attack.

Inbar Segev-Vigder was among the seven people killed during the horrific rampage on Tuesday. 

The new mom was protecting her son Ari when she was gunned down, Israel confirmed.

'She saved his life. There are no words. Only heartbreak,' the country's official account on X posted. 'May the memory of the victims be a blessing.'

Segev-Vigder, 33, was a pilates instructor and is also survived by her husband, the Times of Israel reports.

She died along with newlywed Shahar Goldman, 30, a dancer who got married last year.

Ilya Nozadze, 42, Revital Bronstein, 24, Nadia Sokolenko, 40, also died, the Jerusalem Post reports. A seventh victim has yet to be publicly named.

At least 16 others were wounded during the chaos, which unfolded in Jaffa just after 7pm.

Two terrorists arms with an M16 gun and a knife began the attack aboard a light rail train before continuing the rampage into the street.

A joint investigation of the Shin Bet and the Tel Aviv district named Muhammad Mask, 19, and Ahmed Hamoni, 25, as the suspects.

The terrorists were shot at by law enforcement and armed pedestrians. Mask died while Hamoni was seriously injured, Israel Police said.

Both men were from Hebron and had no prior arrests but were previously involved in 'disturbances', Israel Police said.

Bystadnder Lev Kraitman was eating schnitzel in the old port area of Tel Aviv when he heard gunshots.

Without hesitating, he dashed to the light railway station where they were on a rampage knifing and shooting anyone they came across.

Kraitman, who saved 20 people from the Nova massacre last year before serving in Gaza, pulled out his weapon and confronted the attackers – shooting one of them dead.

The rampage came just moments before a barrage of nearly 200 Iranian missiles was halted by Israel's defense system.

Iran launched wave after wave of warheads towards Jerusalem and Tel Aviv in revenge for Israel's campaign against Tehran's Hezbollah allies in Lebanon, including the assassination of its leader last week.

In the most dramatic development of the Middle Eastern conflict, air raid sirens sounded as 181 missiles began raining down on Israel, with some rockets dramatically exploding into bright orange flames near Tel Aviv.

Despite Iran claiming a new type of hypersonic missile was also used for the first time, IDF Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said there were no Israeli casualties and just a few hits in the centre of the country and in the south.

'We are on high alert both defensively and offensively,' Hagari said in a TV broadcast.

 'We will defend the citizens of the State of Israel. This attack will have consequences. We have plans, and we will operate at the place and time we decide.'