JERUSALEM: Israeli doctors declared two babies dead after medics evacuated 55 children from a daycare center in Jerusalem on Monday, with local media reporting the incident may have been linked to the facility’s heating system.
A baby girl was pronounced dead after being brought to hospital in “critical condition,” Gal Pachis, head of the emergency center at Shaare Zedek Hospital, told journalists in a statement broadcast live on television.
A baby boy, approximately six months old, was declared dead despite resuscitation efforts, the Hadassah Medical Center said in a statement.
Medics did not specify the cause of the deaths.
Earlier, Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency medical service said paramedics were “providing medical treatment and evacuating 55 casualties to hospitals in the city, including two infants in critical condition.”
“Resuscitation efforts are ongoing, and 53 infants are undergoing further medical examinations and treatment,” it said in a statement.
Police said three caregivers present at the center had been detained for questioning.
The Times of Israel reported that the daycare center in Jerusalem was operating without a license and that investigators were examining whether the incident was connected to its heating system.
The center is located in an apartment on Hamem Gimel Street, in an area predominantly inhabited by members of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community.
“Forensic experts are on site conducting all necessary investigative measures to locate evidence and clarify the circumstances that led to the injuries of the infants,” police said in a separate statement.
The nursery is on the second floor of the building, an AFP correspondent reported.
There were no signs of fire or any physical damage to the building, the correspondent said, adding that several medics and police officers were deployed in the area.
Zalmi Neufeld, 22, told AFP at the scene that he saw “emergency personnel pulling kids out of the building.”
“I saw parents crying, a lot of kids crying, kids all over the place,” he added.
“It was like a war zone.”
Police earlier said the incident was suspected to have involved hazardous materials, but later ruled this out.
In a post on X, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he shared the “deep sorrow” of the families involved.
“The loss of the lives of very young children is an immense, unspeakable tragedy, and my heart goes out to all the parents and children who have been affected,” he wrote, calling for an investigation and accountability.