Shimon and Michal Gross
Shimon and Michal GrossFlash 90

Shimon and Michal Gross, who lost their two infant daughters about a year ago in a poisoning caused by the negligence of a pest control professional, have been blessed with a baby boy who was born at Shaare Tzedek Hospital.

The baby joins his two brothers, Haim Michael Shlomo (8) and Rephael Yitzchak Isaac (6), who were also overcome by the pest control poison but managed to survive. The daughters Yael (2) and Avigail (4) z''l did not pull through the effects of the lethal poison.

The Gross family - both parents and their four young children - were left critically ill last January after an exterminator left a highly toxic material, phosphine, in the apartment's enclosed security room known in Hebrew as the "mamad," in Jerusalem's Givat Mordechai neighborhood. 

Apparently, the security room's seal was less effective than the what storage requirements for the chemical specify, and the poison spread throughout the apartment over several days, poisoning the entire Gross family.

After recovering, parents Shimon and Michal stayed in Schneider Medical Center to monitor the recovery of their two sons, who were critically ill for weeks due to the phosphine's effects. The Gross family finally went home after their ordeal last February. 

Rescue officials at the scene were shocked to discover that the chemical's toxicity was at the highest levels of the spectrum. The exterminator, Yossi Barkan, was arrested and an investigation launched. Police said they would recommend charging Barkan with manslaughter.

Avigail and Yael z"l
Avigail and Yael z"lGross family