A baby died after being injured while at a daycare on Menachem Begin Street in Bnei Brak, after being taken from the facility in critical condition, Israel Police reported on Monday.
Israel Police launched an investigation at the location and collected evidence, while the daycare worker who was in charge of the baby was arrested for questioning.
According to the initial investigation, no signs of violent injury were found on the infant's body, and an initial assessment by the Bnei Brak-Ramat Gan police established that the suspected cause of death was by negligence and child neglect.
The daycare worker, a 44-year-old woman, was questioned and detained. She will be brought to the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court for a hearing on the extension of her detention on Wednesday.
A report by the Education Ministry revealed that the daycare, at which 19 babies were being cared for, was operating without the required licenses. In response, the ministry issued a 60-day administrative closure order.
The suspect cooperated with police investigators, claiming that she wasn't certified, that there were usually fewer children in the daycare, and that today was an exception because additional kids arrived. She stated that she fed the baby and, after some time, found him in his crib.
The worker stated that she did not know he was dead and thought he was sleeping.
According to her testimony, she was alone at the daycare and, upon realizing something was wrong, immediately called the baby's mother because she did not know the emergency services number.
The police stated that "the investigation to uncover the truth and clarify the circumstances of the death is ongoing."
Yitzhak Sheinin and Elhanan Shachaf, ZAKA volunteers who assisted at the scene, recounted that "ZAKA's dispatch center sent us to Menachem Begin Street in Bnei Brak. The baby, about six months old, reportedly lost consciousness during playtime at the daycare. Unfortunately, his death was confirmed upon arrival at the hospital. We are assisting the police, the daycare staff, and the family members."
Second tragedy in two weeks
Just a week prior, a similar tragedy occurred at a daycare in Jerusalem, where two babies died in an unlicensed daycare, and a total of 55 babies were affected by improper conditions present in the facility.
The babies who died in the Jerusalem incident were identified as Leah Tzipora Goloventchitz and Aharon Katz. Due to strong opposition from the families and the community, an autopsy was not performed, and therefore, the exact circumstances and cause of their deaths have not been established.
At the time, Hadassah Hospital stated that the likely cause of death was respiratory distress due to an environmental hazard in the daycare, which led to the deaths of the two babies and the injuries of the other children. All the children affected remained in the hospital for observation.