A one-year-old infant who was not vaccinated against measles and had no underlying conditions died on Tuesday due to complications of the disease, the Health Ministry said.
The death marks the 11th fatality in Israel due to the measles outbreak since it began in May. Most of them were healthy children with no underlying illnesses, who were not vaccinated against measles.
The infant in question succumbed to the disease at Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem, the Health Ministry said. The hospital said that the baby had been brought there 10 days earlier in serious condition with a blocked airway.
On Sunday, an unvaccinated 18-month old baby in Tiberias who was otherwise healthy also died of measles.
In a message to the public, the Health Ministry stressed that measles is preventable through an effective, safe and free vaccine available through all health providers and all well-baby clinics.
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The areas currently defined as outbreak zones are Jerusalem, Beit Shemesh, Bnei Brak, Harish, Modiin Illit, Nof HaGalil, Kiryat Gat, Ashdod, Safed, Netivot, Haifa, Tiberias, the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council, and the community of Tekoa. In those areas, health professionals are advising parents to move up the second dose of the vaccine from age 6 to age 1.5 and to administer the first dose before children turn 1.
Illustration: A baby receives the measles vaccine on September 10, 2025, in Seattle, Washington. (AP/Lindsey Wasson)
Also Tuesday, a 10-year-old girl from the West Bank settlement of Modiin Illit died in hospital of complications due to the flu.
According to the Health Ministry, the girl was otherwise healthy and had received her routine childhood vaccinations, but had not been vaccinated against the flu this year.
The ministry said she was brought to the hospital during resuscitation attempts Monday night and died there. Her parents reported that she had been suffering from fever and a sore throat.
It marks the first death due to the flu reported to the Health Ministry this season.
The flu in Israel has now passed the epidemic threshold, the ministry said Tuesday, meaning that each sick person infects more than one other person.
The ministry recommends every Israeli over age 6 months be vaccinated for the flu, stressing it in particular for those over age 65 and those under age 5, who are particularly vulnerable.
The vaccine is provided free of charge by all public health providers, and about 1.1 million Israelis have received the shot so far this year.
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