Two young children were killed Sunday after a fire broke out in their home in southern Israel.
The incident occurred in the Bedouin town of Tel Sheva (Tel-Sabi), near the city of Beersheba in the Negev.
The victims have been identified as a five-year-old boy – Sultan Abu Anza, and his two-year-old sister, Hur.
Firefighters and emergency medical teams were dispatched to the scene, pulling the two children from the burning building and rushing them to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba for treatment.
Upon their arrival at Soroka, however, both children were declared dead.
“When we arrived at the scene, we saw the girl without a pulse and not breathing and suffering from smoke inhalation and burns on her body,” MDA volunteers said.
“We immediately began performing resuscitation procedures, including massages, artificial respiration, and medication. We loaded her into a mobile intensive care unit and transported her to the hospital while continuing resuscitation procedures.”
Shai Kadosh, a paramedic from MDA, said, “On a nearby street, we linked up with a vehicle that had brought us the boy, about 4 years old, who was without a pulse and breathing and suffering from burns on his body. We immediately began performing resuscitation procedures, including massages, artificial respiration, and medication. We loaded him into a mobile intensive care unit and transported him to the hospital while continuing resuscitation procedures in critical condition.”
According to the B”Terem organization, in the past five years (2018-2023), 26 children have died in fires, 58% of them under the age of 4.
Orly Silbinger, CEO of B”Terem, said, “During a fire, children are the most vulnerable group, as they cannot save themselves. I urge parents not to say, ‘It won’t happen to me.’ Smoke detectors save lives. They won’t prevent the fire, but they will warn in advance, allow for quick rescue of children, and a call for rescue forces.”