diff --git a/babel/dates.py b/babel/dates.py
index 7b626aa11..cb8e0ce47 100644
--- a/babel/dates.py
+++ b/babel/dates.py
@@ -1316,13 +1316,19 @@ def parse_date(
     # FIXME: this currently only supports numbers, but should also support month
     #        names, both in the requested locale, and english
 
+    if len(numbers) < 3:
+        raise ParseError(f"Expected three numbers in input, got {len(numbers)}: {string!r}")
+
     year = numbers[indexes['Y']]
     year = 2000 + int(year) if len(year) == 2 else int(year)
     month = int(numbers[indexes['M']])
     day = int(numbers[indexes['D']])
     if month > 12:
         month, day = day, month
-    return datetime.date(year, month, day)
+    try:
+        return datetime.date(year, month, day)
+    except ValueError as error:
+        raise ParseError(f"Could not parse {string!r}: {error}") from error
 
 
 def parse_time(
diff --git a/tests/test_dates.py b/tests/test_dates.py
index 4f8c73907..7f8a479e8 100644
--- a/tests/test_dates.py
+++ b/tests/test_dates.py
@@ -465,6 +465,21 @@ def test_parse_date():
     assert dates.parse_date('2004-04-01', locale='sv_SE', format='short') == date(2004, 4, 1)
 
 
+def test_parse_date_raises_parse_error_instead_of_index_error():
+    # Strings with fewer than three numbers cannot be matched against the
+    # locale's numeric date pattern; this used to leak a bare IndexError.
+    for string, locale in [('Jan 3, 2026', 'en_US'), ('1. Januar 2026', 'de_DE'), ('3 janvier 2026', 'fr_FR')]:
+        with pytest.raises(dates.ParseError):
+            dates.parse_date(string, locale=locale)
+
+
+def test_parse_date_raises_parse_error_on_out_of_range_values():
+    # Out-of-range fields used to leak the ValueError of datetime.date().
+    for string in ['99.99.9999', '01.32.2026', '00.01.2026']:
+        with pytest.raises(dates.ParseError):
+            dates.parse_date(string, locale='de_DE')
+
+
 def test_parse_date_custom_format():
     assert dates.parse_date('1.4.2024', format='dd.mm.yyyy') == date(2024, 4, 1)
     assert dates.parse_date('2024.4.1', format='yyyy.mm.dd') == date(2024, 4, 1)