Prof. Sa'ar Hashavia, director of pediatric emergency medicine and deputy director of Hadassah Ein Kerem, stated Wednesday that four toddlers hospitalized Thursday with suspected benzodiazepine poisoning were in good condition and have been discharged home. He said a suspicion emerged that this is a complex incident.
Prof. Sa'ar Hashavia, deputy director of Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center and director of its pediatric emergency department, confirmed Wednesday afternoon that the four toddlers hospitalized Thursday with suspected benzodiazepine poisoning have been discharged home in good condition. He reiterated that a suspicion has emerged the incident is 'a complex incident,' though he offered no further details.
This development, reported by The Zioneer at 09:59 Jerusalem Wednesday, marks a resolution of the medical episode: The children, first brought to the ER last Thursday with drowsiness, apathy, and imbalance, were initially reported by The Zioneer at 09:59 Jerusalem as having been hospitalized after consuming food contaminated with benzodiazepines, based on a Jerusalem Post report. Within hours the same morning, Hashavia himself confirmed the benzodiazepine exposure, noting the hospital had notified police and the Health Ministry over suspicion of non-accidental poisoning. By the 09:59 update, he stated the children were in good condition and discharged. This afternoon's briefing adds no new medical data but formally closes the active hospitalization phase.
As The Zioneer reported on Wednesday 09:59 Jerusalem, Hashavia confirmed the hospital had alerted authorities, suggesting the possibility that the poisoning was not accidental. The broader context, per The Zioneer's background reporting, is that contamination was linked to fruit puree consumed by the infants, a detail Hashavia did not repeat this afternoon.
What remains open is the investigation into the source of the benzodiazepine contamination and the exact circumstances — Hashavia's reference to a 'complex incident' indicates that authorities are treating the case with ongoing scrutiny, though no further updates have been provided.
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Source and signal
- Internal intake