JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Four infants were hospitalized in Jerusalem last Thursday after consuming fruit puree laced with anesthetic substances. Two one-year-olds and two three-year-olds were taken to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital after exhibiting signs of confusion and weakness. Blood tests found traces of benzodiazepines, a substance used in psychiatric medications and sedatives.

The children were all discharged from the hospital in stable condition. Israel Police opened an investigation over the weekend after confirming that three of the infants had consumed baby puree from the brand Prinok. So far, no suspects have been identified.

The father of  one of the infants said on Tuesday morning in an interview with Kan News on Reshet Bet that he and his family are still waiting for confirmation from the Ministry of Health that the matter is being investigated, because it poses a life-threatening danger to young children:

“The doctors said that if a small child consumes something like this, in that quantity, it means death.”

The father said that his young son was hospitalized only as a precaution:

“At first they thought it might be a gas leak or something similar. That’s why Magen David Adom recommended admitting him as well. But he never showed any symptoms. They checked him, and all the tests came back normal, thank God.”

The father described the events:

“My daughter was playing with her neighbor, and the neighbor was holding an apple purée pouch with red packaging. My wife noticed that he gave her a spoonful or two. About five or six minutes later, I don’t remember exactly, the neighbors’ children began showing symptoms. The little girl could not hold her head up, and the boy collapsed, so they immediately took him to Magen David Adom.”

He continued: “Meanwhile, my wife hadn’t noticed anything unusual with anyone. About 20 minutes later she wanted to go home and suddenly saw that my daughter was falling. She would walk for two minutes, then after a few seconds fall down again, and she was also disoriented. We called Magen David Adom again, and they recommended evacuating us. They also said to take our son because they didn’t know what it was. First evacuate everyone, they thought it might be a gas leak or something else.”

The father noted that his family does not normally consume the type of purée suspected of causing the symptoms: “We use a different brand. I don’t know exactly what I consume every time. But again, I’m only saying this as a possibility because it really is only a possibility. Someone told me to throw it away, but I said not to throw it away, wait for the Ministry of Health investigation.”

Fortunately, his daughter consumed only a small amount: “Because my daughter had very little of it, the test result came back borderline negative. Thank God, the day after being hospitalized she was already eating normally. She was still somewhat groggy. The neighbors’ children were in really terrible condition, so they only came home today, it took more time for them to recover.”

He said that after returning home from the hospital, he contacted the police:

“I said, ‘Listen, the doctors told me that if a small child consumes something like this, in that quantity, it means death.’ The police told me, ‘This isn’t our responsibility; call the Ministry of Health.’ I told them that wasn’t right and that they should investigate it. After that I called Magen David Adom and United Hatzalah, and they told me the same thing: ‘It doesn’t belong to us; it’s not our responsibility.’”

On Wednesday, Israel’s Ministry of Health announced that three toddlers from Jerusalem had been hospitalized after traces of benzodiazepines sedative and anesthetic substances found in anti-anxiety medications for adults, such as Klonopin and Valium were detected in their blood.