A 5th-grade student at Yitzhak Sadeh Elementary School in the central city of Kfar Saba was left outside a shelter during a Hezbollah rocket attack on Tuesday, sparking outrage from parents and prompting an apology from the Education Ministry
According to parents, the student was delayed in reaching the shelter because he was in the bathroom when the sirens sounded. By the time he arrived, the door had already been closed. Educational staff reportedly refused to reopen it, citing safety procedures meant to protect those already inside in the event of a direct hit. The child was instructed to lie on the ground and cover his head as his classmates pleaded for him to be let in.
Rockets intercepted over central Israel
“His friends begged for him, but he was left crying outside the shelter,” parents said. “The child is traumatized, and so are his friends and us.”
A mother of another student at the school called the decision “a terrible blunder,” questioning the protocols used. “They claimed these are the procedures, but who set them? The child was just a minute late—he was right by the shelter. How can you leave him outside?” she said.
1 View gallery
Hezbollah rocket fragments that landed in central Israel on Tuesday
(Photo: Kadima Regional Council)
The Education Ministry condemned the handling of the incident, calling it a “serious lapse in judgment.” In a statement, the ministry emphasized that no child should ever be left out of a shelter during an emergency. “We will review the incident and immediately refresh emergency procedures to ensure this does not happen again,” the statement read.
Parents expressed ongoing concern over the incident, with one mother saying she now feels anxious about sending her daughter to school. “These are little kids. They’re already dealing with daily anxiety from everything going on, and now this? If it were their child, would they leave them outside?”
Get the Ynetnews app on your smartphone: