A 46-year-old worker was killed Tuesday afternoon during renovation work at Kibbutz Or HaNer in the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council, near the Gaza border, after apparently falling from a crane truck. Magen David Adom crews were dispatched to the scene and, after resuscitation efforts, pronounced him dead from a severe head injury.
The emergency call reached MDA's Lachish 101 dispatch center at 2:37 p.m. Paramedic Miter Zamir Zilberberg said the injured man was unconscious, had no pulse and was not breathing when rescuers arrived. She said the team began advanced CPR, including chest compressions and ventilation, but in the end they had to declare him dead at the site.
The fatal accident comes as workplace safety in construction and industry remains under scrutiny. Last month, the Knesset Labor and Welfare Committee held a session on deadly workplace accidents in those sectors, where the Safety Administration at the Labor Ministry presented official figures and safety groups challenged them.
According to the Safety Administration, 21 people had died in work accidents by May 2026, including 14 construction workers, while 69 people died in workplace accidents throughout 2025. Labor rights group Kav LaOved said the committee heard a higher count, 29 deaths so far this year, and 80 workers killed in workplace accidents last year, 47 of them in construction, or 59% of all fatalities.
