Six-year-old Avigail Elimelech from Lod died Sunday at Shamir-Assaf Harofeh Medical Center after being choked by a swing rope in the yard of her home.
Her family opposes an autopsy, arguing it contradicts Jewish law.
The incident occurred around midday, when a report was received by Magen David Adom’s (MDA) emergency hotline regarding a young girl who was unconscious in the yard of a home in Lod's Neve Zayit neighborhood.
According to an initial assessment, during play on a swing, a rope became wrapped around the girl’s neck, causing her to lose consciousness.
MDA teams who arrived at the scene performed resuscitation efforts and, after restoring her pulse, evacuated her to the hospital in serious and critical condition. Despite medical efforts, her death was later pronounced at the hospital.
The young victim is the daughter of Rabbi Sharon Elimelech, a well-known figure in the Chabad-Lubavitch community in Lod.
Her body was transferred to the Abu Kabir forensic institute. Family members claim that police are requiring an autopsy, a demand opposed by girl's religious family.
“We are in the most difficult moment of our lives, and instead of mourning we are forced to fight over our daughter’s body," relatives said. They argue it was a clear household accident that does not justify an autopsy and are demanding the immediate release of the body for burial.
Rabbis and community representatives are working with senior officials in the police and legal system in an effort to reach a solution that would allow the body to be released without an autopsy.