A man and a woman, both around 80 years old, died late Tuesday night in a fire that broke out in a building on Moshe Ichilov Street in Netanya.
Both victims had been evacuated to Laniado Hospital in critical condition, but the hospital was later forced to declare their deaths.
Nine people suffered injuries from smoke inhalation, among them a 73-year-old woman who was evacuated in serious condition, a 42-year-old woman who was reported to be in moderate condition, and seven others, including two children, who had suffered light injuries.
Israel's Fire and Rescue Service evacuated all the victims and launched an investigation into the cause of the fire, stating that they "gained full control of the incident."
The Fire and Rescue Service added that the building's residents were instructed to stay inside their homes following the fire. Firefighters worked to rescue them from the building through thick smoke, while also attempting to prevent the fire from spreading.
Magen David Adom (MDA) paramedic Gil Dekel said: "After the fire was extinguished, a man and a woman, both around 80 years old, were brought out to us, unconscious, with no pulse and not breathing, after inhaling a lot of smoke. We provided life-saving treatment, including prolonged resuscitation efforts, and evacuated them to the hospital in critical condition as we continued fighting for their lives."
A Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson later said that preliminary investigation indicated that the fire was caused by candles which had been left unattended.