A one-year-old infant was evacuated in critical condition on Tuesday from a daycare on Menachem Begin Street in Bnei Brak. After arriving at the hospital, he was pronounced dead. The other childrens' condition is good.
The Police opened an investigation, and the caretaker was arrested. The circumstances of the tragic incident remain unclear.
Last week, two infants died at a daycare in Jerusalem's Romemah neighborhood. 53 other infants were taken to area hospitals.
On Monday, data were published showing that in the previous school year, there was a gap of tens of thousands of toddlers between the total number of children up to age three and those enrolled in supervised childcare frameworks.
In Jerusalem alone, the estimated gap stands at around 55,000 children. Thousands of additional toddlers are also outside supervised frameworks in other cities, including Beit Shemesh, Bnei Brak, Rahat, and Tel Aviv-Jaffa.
The data point to significant disparities between local authorities: in Jerusalem, only 21% of toddlers are enrolled in supervised frameworks, and in some peripheral localities and in Arab communities, the rate is even below 15%.
By contrast, in Ness Ziona, Rosh Pina, and Har Adar, more than 90% of toddlers are enrolled in supervised childcare frameworks.