Man Charged with Murder of 7-Year-Old Boy in Beit Shemesh

The State Prosecutor's Office has filed an indictment against Liel Ifargan, 26, from Beit Shemesh, for the aggravated murder of 7-year-old Hillel Mordechai Dadon and the attempted murder of his cousin. Ifargan allegedly stabbed the two boys while they were playing in a backyard pool in Beit Shemesh.

The prosecution is requesting that the court order Ifargan's detention until the legal proceedings against him are concluded. According to the indictment, filed by attorney Yael Igra of the Jerusalem District Prosecutor's Office, the incident occurred last month in the afternoon. The two children were playing in an inflatable pool in the yard when Ifargan, who lives in a nearby housing unit, emerged with a knife. He entered the yard, approached the pool, and stabbed Hillel in the chest and his cousin in the neck, intending to kill them.

Ifargan then fled back to his unit and cleaned the knife of blood. Hillel sustained a severe chest injury that led to his death. His cousin suffered a neck wound, experienced active bleeding, was rushed to surgery, sedated, and placed on a ventilator, remaining hospitalized for three days.

The indictment charges Ifargan with aggravated murder, attempted murder, and causing severe aggravated injury. The prosecution stated, "We share in the deep sorrow of the family of Hillel Mordechai Dadon, may he rest in peace, and wish for the full recovery of his cousin. It is difficult to grasp the gap between the innocent game of two children in a pool and the defendant's decision to arm himself with a knife and take their lives. The indictment filed today reflects the exceptional severity of the acts attributed to the defendant and the severe, irreversible outcome they led to."