38 Children Died in Unintentional Accidents During Summer 2026

A report by the Beterem Center for Child Safety revealed that 38 children and teenagers up to age 17 died in unintentional accidents during the recent summer vacation, making it the deadliest summer in the past five years. The report covers the period from June 21 to August 31, coinciding with the end of the school year. In comparison, 29 child fatalities occurred during the summer of 2025, and the average for summer holidays between 2020 and 2025 was approximately 27 deaths.

Road accidents, drowning, falls, and being trapped in closed cars were the leading causes of death. Children under four years old accounted for 37% of the total victims. Road accidents resulted in 16 deaths, a significant increase from the average of 11 per summer between 2020 and 2025. Drowning deaths also saw a sharp rise, with 14 cases, including 8 children in swimming pools and one in the sea. Three children died from falls from heights, and two others, aged 4 and 5, died after being forgotten or trapped in a closed car.

Roads and streets were the sites of the most fatalities, with 15 deaths, followed by public spaces with 12. Children from the Arab community constituted 42% of the total fatalities, nearly 1.7 times their proportion in the general child population. Teenagers aged 15-17 represented 21% of the deaths, while children under four were the most vulnerable group to unintentional accidents.

Beterem had previously declared a state of emergency due to the exceptional rise in child fatalities, warning that the upward trend could make the current year one of the deadliest in the last decade. As the new school year begins, the organization urged increased awareness of safety and prevention measures, launching a bilingual campaign titled "The Black Flag" in Arabic and Hebrew, with a particular focus on the Arab community.