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Two infants pronounced dead after daycare emergency
Two babies, aged three and six months, died at Israeli hospitals on Monday after falling critically ill at an unlicensed daycare center in West Jerusalem. More than 50 other infants and toddlers were hospitalized for treatment, officials said.
Hospitals rule out initial toxic gas theory
Hadassah Mount Scopus Hospital and Shaare Zedek Medical Center confirmed the deaths but did not specify a cause. Local media initially suggested a possible toxic gas leak from the heating system, but the Fire and Rescue Authority found no hazardous substances at the scene.
Overcrowding and poor conditions reported
First responders described the daycare as severely overcrowded, with one image showing an infant sleeping on a bathroom floor. Israeli police detained three caregivers for questioning as forensic teams gathered evidence to determine what led to the children's injuries.
Chaotic scenes as parents rush to the site
The private nursery, located in an apartment building in the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Romema, became the center of a frantic rescue operation. Zalmi Neufeld, a local resident, told AFP he saw emergency workers carrying children from the building.
"I saw parents crying, a lot of kids crying, kids all over the place. It was like a war zone."
Zalmi Neufeld, Romema resident
Ambulance service responds to unconscious babies
Magen David Adom, Israel's national ambulance service, received an emergency call Monday afternoon about two unresponsive infants at the daycare. Paramedics performed resuscitation before transporting the children to hospitals, along with 53 others for evaluation.
Dr. Gal Pachys, director of emergency medicine at Shaare Zedek, said the three-month-old arrived after extensive resuscitation efforts but could not be saved. "At this stage, we still do not know exactly what caused this," he said.
Government vows crackdown on unlicensed daycares
Education Minister Yoav Kisch condemned the facility's lack of oversight, calling the deaths a preventable tragedy. "Helpless infants lost their lives in a private facility operating illegally," he said, announcing plans to shut down unlicensed daycare centers nationwide.
