The yeshiva student who was murdered by a terrorist Thursday in Gush Etzion is Ezra Yehiel Schwartz, 18, a US citizen and a student at the Ashreinu Yeshiva in Beit Shemesh. He was in Israel on his own.
He and the other students who were hurt in the attack had come to help build the Oz Vegaon site, which was established in memory of the three yeshiva students who were abducted and murdered last summer.
His funeral will be held in Boston on Sunday.
ZAKA emergency services have contacted his family in the US, as well as a relative in Israel who is to identify his body.
The Beit Shemesh Municipality announced that it is "shocked and grief-stricken by the murder of the yeshiva student, in the shooting attack at Guush Etzion."
Schwartz had come, together with five other students from abroad, to hand out food to soldiers in Gush Etzion.
The five other students were lightly wounded and are being treated at Shaare Tzedek Hospital in Jerusalem.
The students are in Israel as part of a program in which youths volunteer for 9.5 months, studying at yeshiva during the day and volunteering in the evenings.
Magen David Adom paramedics pronounced Schwartz dead at the scene. His five friends were evacuated to the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, three were treated for light injuries and two for shock. They were all released.
A second victim from the attack, Palestinian Shadi Arafeh, 24, of Hebron, was also pronounced dead at the scene.
Yaakov Don, 51, a teacher and father of four who lived in the nearby Alon Shvut settlement was evacuated to Hadassah Medical Center in serious condition and was pronounced dead upon his arrival at the hospital.
Two Israeli women, one lightly injured from the gunfire and another from the car accident, were taken to Shaare Zedek Medical Center, where they will remain overnight.
The United States said it considered the attack to be an act of terrorism.
"We condemn these terrorist attacks against innocent civilians in the strongest possible terms," Edgar Vasquez, a spokesperson for the State Department, told The Jerusalem Post.
"As we’ve made clear, we remain deeply concerned about the situation," he said, "and continue to urge all sides to take affirmative steps to restore calm and prevent actions that would further escalate tensions.”
Within hours after the attack, friends posted messages about Schwartz on his Facebook page. The teen, from Sharon, Massachusetts was a graduate of Maimonides Day School.
His friend Adam Kingstein wrote, “I only knew Ezra Schwartz for a few months but he was always such a good friend. He was always so happy to see everyone and gave all his friends hugs whenever he saw them. After only knowing Ezra for a few weeks I asked him to room with me at Rutgers next year. We were so excited for it and spoke a lot about how college together would be. Even if we won't be roommates next year you'll always be with me college.”
Benjamin Edelman wrote, “Ezra was a great and kind friend to me on USY on wheels and never failed to brighten up my day. Wheels is short, but you feel like you've known a person forever after going on a trip like that with them. Some of my greatest memories on the trip were with Ezra. We, along with Dov and Henryck, would choose to room together every Shabbat and he always made me laugh and have a great time. Ezra's constant positivity and kindness made him an amazing human being, and I am shocked and deeply saddened by what happened today. Rest in peace my friend.”
Michael Wilner contributed to this report.
