Man Indicted for Poisoning Baby Food Jars with Prescription Drugs

A 41-year-old man from Beersheba has been indicted for intentionally crushing prescription benzodiazepine pills and inserting them into jars of baby food, which he then placed on supermarket shelves in Jerusalem. The indictment, filed by the Jerusalem District Prosecutor's Office, details how the man committed these acts during May and June 2026.

As a result of his actions, five toddlers, including infants under one year old, suffered severe poisoning and were hospitalized. In one incident, two young sisters, aged three and a half and eight months, became severely ill after consuming tainted baby food. They were found to have ten times the maximum normal level of benzodiazepine poisoning.

In another instance, four jars containing the drug were placed on a shelf. Three toddlers, aged three years, 11 months, and three years old, consumed the contaminated food and were hospitalized with symptoms including confusion, drowsiness, and loss of muscle tone. They also exhibited severe benzodiazepine poisoning.

Following the incidents, all of the company's baby food products were removed from the supermarket, and additional poisoned jars were discovered. Two branches of the supermarket chain were temporarily closed due to public health concerns. The indictment charges the man with multiple counts, including the use of dangerous poison, assault of a minor, and attempted use of poison.

The prosecution is seeking the man's detention until the end of legal proceedings, emphasizing the severity of harming vulnerable infants through a product intended for their nourishment. The prosecutor's office stated that the events could have resulted in far more severe consequences and harmed additional children.