A father and his female partner, residents of northern Israel, have been arrested on suspicion of abusing the man's three children.
The children, ages 5, 7, and 8, are believed to have suffered severe abuse on multiple occasions.
It is suspected that the couple would often lock the father's children into one of the rooms of the home, hit them aggressively, and starve them.
Following reports that the children did not attend school for several days, an investigation was opened, and on Wednesday the police arrived at the family's home. After the family refused to open their door, the police officers broke into the room where the children were locked, and found them scared and bruised.
The youngest child, a boy aged five-and-a-half, was evacuated to Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa.
The Nazareth Magistrates Court has extended the couple's arrest until February 13, and the investigation is ongoing.
Rambam reported that the child was released from the hospital on Monday into the care of the child welfare authority.