2 carers suspected in deaths of babies at unlicensed Jerusalem daycare set to appear in court

Medics and police at the scene of an incident at a Jerusalem daycare, January 19, 2026 (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Medics and police at the scene of an incident at a Jerusalem daycare, January 19, 2026 (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Police say that the detention of two suspects in the deaths of two babies at an unlicensed Jerusalem daycare facility has been extended.

The suspects will appear at Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court today for a hearing on their detention, police say.

The announcement appears to suggest that a third suspect has been released. Three caregivers at the daycare were detained yesterday.

According to reports, the two are suspected of reckless homicide and negligence.

Police and the State Prosecutor’s Office are pushing for autopsies in order to uncover the exact causes of death for 4-month old Leah Goloventzitz and 6-month-old Aharon Katz, whose bodies were found yesterday, along with 53 other babies and toddlers with varying degrees of injuries at the Haredi daycare center.

Police reportedly believe the two babies may have died of heat exhaustion and dehydration linked to a faulty heating system in the daycare, which operated out of several adjacent apartments on HaMem Gimel Street in the Romema neighborhood.

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