Surviving brothers of pesticide poisoning in Jerusalem now in stable condition

Brothers Michael and Yitzhak Gross remain hospitalized while parents mourn deaths of their two younger daughters.

By JPOST.COM STAFF, THE POST
Schneider hospital 248 2 (photo credit: Sponsor)
Schneider hospital 248 2
(photo credit: Sponsor)
The medical condition of Michael and Yitzhak Gross, who were previously in a critical state after being exposed to pesticides at their family home in Jerusalem last week, is now stable, doctors at Schneider Medical Center in Petah Tikva announced Sunday .
Both brothers were admitted to Schneider on Wednesday after an exterminator had fumigated the Gross residence. The family's two and four year old daughters passed away shortly after arriving at the hospital. 
The childrens' parents have decided to sit shiva and mourn in the hospital, staying with the boys. Though the children remain under anesthesia, doctors say that the brothers can still hear and feel although they may not respond.
A close relative of the family, Shlomo Ryan related, "This sort of tragedy, where at once part of a family passes away, while the other half are in critical condition; it is unimaginable. The parents ask everyone not to desist, to continue praying, as every prayer is heard and helps."
The Jerusalem Magistrate's Court on Friday released to house arrest the exterminator suspected of negligence and causing the deaths of both Gross daughters. The exterminator has been forbidden by the court to continue working for 60 days or from leaving the country withing the coming six months. He is suspected of misusing Phosphine, a dangerous pesticide which was determined "not for household use" by the Jerusalem Court.