diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 4309824..f01ec3c 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ### Fixed
 - `ElasticsearchService::getItemById()` always returned null because it compared the hit total against an integer while Elasticsearch returns an object
+- Deleting an entity together with its `LoggableChildInterface` children crashed the update handler: the child's delete log triggers an update log for the parent, whose identifier Doctrine has already cleared; such updates are now skipped
 
 ## [1.2.0] - 2026-07-02
 
diff --git a/src/MessageHandler/UpdateActivityLogHandler.php b/src/MessageHandler/UpdateActivityLogHandler.php
index f1bb030..ab5d02c 100644
--- a/src/MessageHandler/UpdateActivityLogHandler.php
+++ b/src/MessageHandler/UpdateActivityLogHandler.php
@@ -31,6 +31,14 @@ public function __invoke(UpdateActivityLogMessageInterface $message): void
             return;
         }
 
+        // the item was removed in the meantime (e.g. a LoggableChildInterface
+        // logging to a parent that was deleted in the same flush); Doctrine
+        // clears generated identifiers on removal, and an item without an
+        // identifier has no current data tracker to compare against
+        if (null === $updatedItem->getId()) {
+            return;
+        }
+
         $currentDataTracker = $this->currentDataTrackerProvider->getCurrentDataTrackerByClassAndId($message->getClassName(), $updatedItem->getId());
 
         if (!$currentDataTracker instanceof CurrentDataTrackerInterface) {
diff --git a/tests/UnitTests/MessageHandler/UpdateActivityLogHandlerTest.php b/tests/UnitTests/MessageHandler/UpdateActivityLogHandlerTest.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..151cea7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/UnitTests/MessageHandler/UpdateActivityLogHandlerTest.php
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace Locastic\Loggastic\Tests\UnitTests\MessageHandler;
+
+use Locastic\Loggastic\DataProcessor\ActivityLogProcessorInterface;
+use Locastic\Loggastic\DataProvider\CurrentDataTrackerProviderInterface;
+use Locastic\Loggastic\Message\UpdateActivityLogMessage;
+use Locastic\Loggastic\MessageHandler\UpdateActivityLogHandler;
+use Locastic\Loggastic\Metadata\LoggableContext\Factory\LoggableContextCollectionFactoryInterface;
+use Locastic\Loggastic\Metadata\LoggableContext\Factory\LoggableContextFactory;
+use Locastic\Loggastic\Metadata\LoggableContext\LoggableContextCollection;
+use PHPUnit\Framework\TestCase;
+
+class UpdateActivityLogHandlerTest extends TestCase
+{
+    public function testItSkipsItemsWithoutAnIdentifier(): void
+    {
+        $item = new class {
+            public function getId(): ?int
+            {
+                return null;
+            }
+        };
+
+        $collectionFactory = $this->createMock(LoggableContextCollectionFactoryInterface::class);
+        $collectionFactory->method('create')->willReturn(
+            new LoggableContextCollection([$item::class => ['groups' => ['test_log']]])
+        );
+
+        $currentDataTrackerProvider = $this->createMock(CurrentDataTrackerProviderInterface::class);
+        $currentDataTrackerProvider->expects(self::never())->method('getCurrentDataTrackerByClassAndId');
+
+        $activityLogProcessor = $this->createMock(ActivityLogProcessorInterface::class);
+        $activityLogProcessor->expects(self::never())->method('processUpdatedItem');
+
+        $handler = new UpdateActivityLogHandler(
+            $activityLogProcessor,
+            $currentDataTrackerProvider,
+            new LoggableContextFactory($collectionFactory)
+        );
+
+        $handler(new UpdateActivityLogMessage($item));
+    }
+}