Unexploded Cluster Bombs Found After School Trip Explosion Near Lebanon Border

Israeli soldiers discovered additional unexploded cluster munitions near the site of an explosion that killed one person and injured approximately 20 others during a school trip on Monday. The incident occurred in a border area with Lebanon, and Israeli assessments suggest thousands of unexploded munitions may still be present.

Following the blast, Israeli forces, including Brigade 91, cordoned off the area around the Ramot Naftali road as they conducted searches. Students who were not injured were taken to Kibbutz Yiftah and questioned about the events. Some students reported encountering several unexploded objects along their route, with some even picking them up and placing them in their bags. Explosives experts subsequently searched the bags but found nothing further.

Investigators are examining the possibility that the explosive device was placed in a student's bag about an hour before the incident. Preliminary findings indicate a student found the bomb near the path in a nearby wooded area and placed it in their personal bag. The group continued their journey, and the explosion occurred as students sat in a circle near the end of the trip.

Students stated that the educational staff had not warned them about the potential presence of unexploded ordnance. The device that detonated was a cluster munition, similar to others found in northern towns during the war. Despite its relatively small explosive charge, its design can cause severe injuries.

Israeli military estimates indicate that significant quantities of unexploded ordnance, potentially numbering in the thousands, remain in the area following years of conflict. Responsibility for dealing with unexploded ordnance in civilian areas falls to the Israeli police, with the Nature and Parks Authority and the Jewish National Fund (JNF) involved in forested areas.

Authorities plan to survey and classify open areas in the north by risk level in the coming days to determine which can be reopened to the public. School trips in the affected areas have been suspended, and questions are being raised about the approval of the trip's route, as the Ministry of Education had approved it, despite JNF warning signs posted since May indicating the area's danger and prohibiting entry.