Two Boys Die in Separate Negev Road Accidents

A seven-year-old boy was killed in a road accident near Rahat in the Negev on Friday evening. Paramedics were called to Highway 264, where they found the child with severe, multi-system injuries after being struck by a private vehicle. They were forced to declare him dead at the scene. Police have opened an investigation into the circumstances of the crash.

Separately, a 13-year-old boy, Salem Ibrahim Abu Rakik, died from injuries sustained two weeks after being hit by a car while riding his bicycle. His cousin, Salim Eid Abu Rakik, was killed in the same incident. The accident occurred on the road leading to the eastern Muslim cemetery in Tel Sheva. Relatives expressed profound grief, stating, "The family is struggling to comprehend the magnitude of the tragedy, having lost two children in just two weeks. We have no words to describe the pain. Just days ago we said goodbye to Salim, and today we say goodbye to Salem. This is a pain that cannot be described in words." They added, "Both were in school. All their time together and they lost their lives together."

These incidents add to a grim tally on Israeli roads. On Thursday, five people were killed in four separate fatal accidents across the country, including a motorcyclist in Kiryat Bialik, a taxi driver in the Ayalon Highway, two residents of Tarabin in the Negev in a head-on collision, and a cyclist near Tel Aviv's HaTzuk beach who was run over by an undocumented immigrant driving a stolen vehicle.

As of Friday, 323 people have been killed in road accidents in Israel since the beginning of the year.