Man Charged With Poisoning Baby Food Jars in Jerusalem

Prosecutors have filed an indictment against Yan Shamla, a 41-year-old man from Beersheba, accused of crushing prescription medications and inserting them into baby food jars before placing them on supermarket shelves in Jerusalem. The indictment details incidents occurring in May and June 2026, where five infants and toddlers who consumed the contaminated food were poisoned, hospitalized, and required medical treatment. Shamla allegedly used benzodiazepine medications, which are prohibited for children without expert approval, crushing approximately 17 pills or more into each jar. In one instance, two jars were placed on a shelf at a "Zol U'Begal" supermarket branch, leading to two sisters, aged three and a half and eight months, collapsing and suffering severe confusion and weakness after eating the food. Tests revealed they had ten times the maximum normal level of benzodiazepine poisoning. In another case, four jars containing the tainted food were placed at a different branch. Three toddlers, aged two and eleven months, consumed the food from one of these jars and experienced confusion, drowsiness, instability, and loss of muscle tone before being hospitalized with severe poisoning. Following these events, all of the company's baby food products were recalled, and additional contaminated jars were found. Two branches of the supermarket chain were temporarily closed due to public health concerns. The indictment charges Shamla with multiple counts of using dangerous poison, assaulting a minor or helpless person, attempted use of dangerous poison, attempted assault, and theft. Prosecutors are seeking his detention until the legal proceedings conclude, emphasizing the severity of harming vulnerable infants through their basic nourishment.