Israel Police announced on Wednesday that they had completed their investigation into a daycare director and two caregivers in the city of Ariel who are suspected of hundreds of severe incidents of abuse involving infants aged between ten and fifteen months.
According to suspicions, the infants were subjected to severe acts of violence, including being slammed against surfaces, strangled, shaken, pulled by their hair, and tied up. In some cases, investigators suspect the violence caused the infants to become disoriented or even lose consciousness.
The investigation began in early October after police received a report of suspicious conduct at the daycare center. Investigators from the Ariel Police Station obtained court warrants and seized the facility's security camera footage.
While reviewing the recordings, investigators identified an initial incident that raised suspicions, leading to the arrest of a caregiver in her 40s.
Investigators subsequently uncovered additional suspected incidents of abuse involving another caregiver, a foreign national in her 30s who was employed without a work permit, as well as the daycare director.
Following the arrests and the discovery of the footage, police worked with the Education Ministry to take immediate action. Due to concerns for the infants' safety, the daycare center was ordered closed for 60 days under the Daycare Supervision Law.
Police established a special investigative team comprising investigators from the Ariel Police Station and the Samaria District Crime Fighting Unit, assisted by additional investigators and personnel from the Judea and Samaria Police District.
As part of the investigation, authorities examined more than 2,400 hours of security camera footage covering over 60 days of activity at the daycare center.
Analysis of the recordings raised suspicions of hundreds of incidents of violence and abuse against helpless children who had been entrusted to the care and supervision of the suspects.
Police noted that some of the recordings allegedly documented particularly severe acts of violence, including strangulation and slamming infants against surfaces, which are suspected of having caused disorientation and even loss of consciousness.
As the investigation progressed, suspicions emerged regarding the involvement of three additional caregivers who had worked at the daycare center during the current and previous years. All three were arrested and questioned before being released to house arrest under restrictive conditions by court order. The investigation into their alleged involvement remains ongoing.
The detention of the three principal suspects was extended multiple times. On Wednesday, following the completion of the investigation and the collection of evidence against them, a prosecutor's statement was filed ahead of the filing of indictments by the Central District Prosecutor's Office.
The court has extended their detention. In addition, as part of the criminal proceedings, police investigators took steps to seize the principal suspects' bank accounts and the funds held in them.
Judea and Samaria District Police Commander Moshe Pinchi responded to the investigation's findings, saying "Harming helpless individuals who are unable to defend themselves or ask for help is among the most serious and disturbing acts imaginable. The findings uncovered during the investigation illustrate the severity of the acts attributed to the suspects and the profound betrayal of the trust placed in them by the parents."
"As a parent and grandfather, it is hard not to feel the pain of the parents and families who entrusted their most precious loved ones to hands that were supposed to provide their children with safety, warmth, and protection. I have seen disturbing and cruel footage unlike anything I have encountered in all my years of public service."
He emphasized, "Israel Police is committed to protecting helpless individuals, acting decisively in response to any suspicion of harm against them, and bringing those involved to justice. The special investigative team worked professionally, thoroughly, and with great sensitivity, while supporting the families and pursuing the truth without compromise. We will continue acting decisively to ensure that anyone who harms helpless individuals is held accountable for it."