'It's a miracle they weren't hurt': Toddlers found wandering streets of Netanya, police investigate

The Netanya police opened an investigation into the incident and are expected to question the daycare staff. 

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF NOVEMBER 14, 2024 12:59

View of buildings and houses in the central Israeli city of Netanya, September 8, 2024. (photo credit: MICHAEL GILADI/FLASH90)

Several toddlers were found wandering around without parents or caregivers between buildings in the city of Netanya, N12 reported on Wednesday evening. 

The police hotline received the first report about the incident, and officers arrived to locate the toddlers with one of the neighbors in the building. The neighbor, N12, reported that they noticed the toddlers, called the police and did not leave them until the police arrived. 

The police located the toddlers' parents and later understood that three toddlers, between the ages 2-3,  left the gate of the daycare they attended, crossed the street, and wandered between buildings, N12 noted in the report. 

The little ones were seen wandering around the building until a neighbor noticed them. 

One of the parents spoke to N12, saying, "I haven't been able to sleep since Sunday; I'm just in shock at what happened and the disaster that could have happened." 

Illustrative image of a daycare. (credit: Wikimedia Commons)

"It's a miracle they weren't hurt."

Parents asked to hold an urgent meeting with the kindergarten staff and were assured that it occurred because of an "unusual malfunction" and that it would not repeat, N12 stated.

One of the parents told N12 that they pulled their children from the kindergarten and were discussing the matter with the police. 

Netanya police open investigation

The Netanya police opened an investigation into the incident and are expected to question the daycare staff. 

The parents received notification of the incident only after it ended, and the incident was reportedly caught on security cameras, showing that the children were wandering alone for approximately 20 minutes. 

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A WhatsApp group among neighbors in the building also documented the confusion, with N12 obtaining the conversation records. 

One resident wrote, "Whose are they?" and another asked, "Does anyone know the children? The neighbor from building number seven found them playing near the cars and was afraid they would go out onto the road, so she brought them into our lobby. Does anyone know?"