"I saw something brown at the edge of the drawer"
The 12-year-old described the frightening moments of the attack. While playing with friends in the neighborhood, he opened a drawer inside a makeshift "fort" they had built.
At the edge of the drawer, he spotted something brown that turned out to be a snake, which quickly bit him. The boy said he tried to remain calm and stay still, as he had been taught. "It hurt and the bite area swelled up immediately", he recounted.
A snake handler who arrived at the scene after the incident identified the reptile as a viper—one of the most venomous snakes in Israel. The boy was treated in the pediatric intensive care unit, and after his condition improved, he was transferred to the children's ward for continued treatment and monitoring.
The boy's father wanted to convey an important message to the public: "It's crucial to emphasize that in case of a snake bite or suspected bite, you must call for help and not move. If my son had decided to run home, which was several minutes' walk away, the venom would have spread through his body and caused immediate life-threatening danger".
Two-year-old with discolored leg
About a week earlier, a two-year-old boy from a community in the Jezreel Valley arrived at Emek Medical Center after being bitten on the leg by a snake. The toddler was rushed to the hospital suffering from significant swelling and a discolored leg, signs indicating that venom had entered his body.
In this case as well, medical teams acted swiftly and provided life-saving treatment. The toddler's condition stabilized and he was discharged home after medical observation.
