The Jerusalem Magistrate's Court on Tuesday refused the police's request to grant a six-day extension of the detention of the daycare director and caretaker who were arrested on Monday following the death of two infants at the daycare where they worked. Instead, the suspects' detention was extended until Thursday.
A representative of the police testified at the hearing that he was appalled by what he saw: "I was at the scene of the incident yesterday. This was a private apartment that operated illegally. From what I saw, there is clear neglect without any standards for operating such a sensitive place."
"There are clear indications that they, for some reason, allowed themselves to keep infants in a bathroom stall and let them lie under a toilet on a mattress. This indicates a plan to bring an infant there and literally lay them down there."
At 3:00 p.m., the Supreme Court will hear a petition submitted by ZAKA against the autopsies of the infants. Judges Alex Stein, Ruth Ronen, and Yechiel Kasher will hear the petition.
The daycare director told investigators that she has operated the facility for 30 years without a license and is not registered with the tax authorities. She said that awake infants are supervised by her and a caregiver, while the sleeping infants are spread across rooms and checked periodically by staff members. She also said she does not remember whether the air conditioner was operating in the room where the infants who died were located. According to her account, when she went to feed them, she noticed they were pale and unresponsive, and opened the window.