A three-year-old toddler died on Friday after he was found in a vehicle that was parked near his home in Moshav Elyakim in the Megiddo Regional Council.
The toddler is believed to have been locked in the car for about 40 minutes. Magen David Adom paramedics treated him at the scene and evacuated him to Rambam Hospital in Haifa, where he was pronounced dead.
Police have opened an investigation into the circumstances of the incident.
MDA paramedic Roi Peer said, "This is a very difficult tragedy. We saw a three-year-old toddler near the car, unconscious, not breathing and without a pulse and suffering from heat stroke. We provided him with medical treatment and performed advanced and prolonged resuscitation operations while trying to cool his body, and evacuated him to the hospital while continuing resuscitation operations."
The Israel Police said, "The Israel Police 100 hotline received a report of a two-and-a-half-year-old toddler who was found unconscious in a vehicle parked near his home in Elyakim. Israeli police investigators rushed to the scene and are currently investigating the circumstances of the case."
The head of the Megiddo Regional Council, Itzik Holavsky, said "A terrible tragedy in Moshav Elyakim. I send condolences to the parents and the entire family on behalf of all the residents of the council. The council's welfare staff will accompany the family and the moshav as needed."
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)