Scene of the rock attack
Scene of the rock attackFlash 90

Two-year-old Avigail Ben-Tzion is smiling again after suffering serious head injuries Thursday in an attack on her family’s car in Jerusalem.

Assaf Ben-Tzion, Avigail’s father, spoke to Channel 10 on Sunday morning and reported that the young girl’s condition has improved significantly over the past 24 hours.

“She doesn’t really understand why she’s in the hospital and we haven’t really explained it yet. But she’s responsive and smiling,” he said.

 While Avigail is in much better condition now than in the hours after the attack, “she’s still suffering from the serious trauma she went through,” he added.

“She’s in the first stages of speech. But for now, other than hugging her and telling her that everything is OK and we’re here, we haven’t really told her why she’s there,” he said.

The Ben-Tzion family car was the target of a rock ambush in southern Jerusalem. Avigail’s mother and two brothers were not hurt in the attack, but Avigail was struck in the head and seriously wounded.

Police have not yet arrested suspects. They believe that the attack was carried out by Palestinian Arabs motivated by anti-Israel sentiment, similar to hundreds of other recent attacks in the area.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu vowed Thursday to bring the attackers to justice.