Man Charged with Poisoning Baby Food Jars, Harming Five Infants

Prosecutors in Jerusalem have filed charges against Yan Shamla, a 41-year-old resident of Beersheba, for allegedly tampering with baby food jars and placing them on supermarket shelves. Shamla is accused of crushing prescription benzodiazepine pills and inserting them into jars of "Prinoch" brand baby food, which he then returned to shelves in "Zol u'Vagadol" chain stores in Jerusalem during May and June 2026. This act resulted in the poisoning of five infants, including babies under one year old, who were hospitalized.

The indictment details multiple instances where Shamla allegedly placed jars containing the crushed medication. In one case, two poisoned jars were placed on a shelf near the Mahane Yehuda market. One jar was purchased by a mother, and when she fed it to her two young daughters, aged three and a half and eight months, they collapsed and suffered severe weakness and confusion. They were hospitalized and found to have dangerously high levels of benzodiazepine poisoning.

In another incident, four poisoned jars were placed on a shelf near the central bus station. After three infants, aged three years, 11 months, and three years, consumed food from one of these jars, they quickly developed symptoms including confusion, drowsiness, and loss of muscle tone. They were also hospitalized with severe benzodiazepine poisoning.

Following these events, all baby food jars of the affected brand were removed from the store, and additional poisoned jars were discovered. Two branches of the "Zol u'Vagadol" chain were temporarily closed due to public health concerns. Shamla faces charges including using dangerous poison, assaulting a minor or helpless person, and attempted use of poison.

Moran Bayna Weissman, a prosecutor, stated that the incidents could have had far more severe consequences, emphasizing the vulnerability of the young victims and the betrayal of trust in a product meant for their nourishment.