Teenager Killed, 24 Injured in Unexploded Ordnance Blast in Northern Israel

A 9th-grade student, Elazar Yair Wilensky, was killed and 24 others were injured on Monday when an old piece of unexploded ordnance detonated in an agricultural area near Kibbutz Yiftah in the Ramim Ridge region of northern Israel. The victims were students and teachers from the Orot Ma'alot middle school. Initial investigations suggest one of the teenagers found a Hezbollah cluster bomb in the field and placed it in his backpack, where it exploded. The blast caused severe injuries from shrapnel and the shockwave to those nearby.

Elazar Yair Wilensky, from Ma'alot Tarshiha, was described by his family as a "child of life, smart and wise, full of joy, a good and beloved friend, with his whole future ahead of him." He is survived by his parents, three sisters, and a brother. The city of Ma'alot Tarshiha expressed deep sorrow over the incident, with Mayor Moti Ben David and city officials offering condolences and pledging continued support to the affected families. The municipality's welfare and psychological services are providing emotional support to students, families, and staff.

Emergency responders described a chaotic scene. MDA EMT David Radko, one of the first on the scene, recounted treating numerous casualties scattered along the path, with some helping their injured friends. He noted the exceptional cooperation of the injured, with some applying tourniquets to stop bleeding. MDA Paramedic Osama Massoud reported that the first arriving ambulance crew found many panicked victims, including a critically injured teenager who was pronounced dead after resuscitation efforts with military medical personnel failed. Paramedic Orly Ben Simon also described the intense scene and the efforts to save the unconscious teenager, whose injuries were deemed fatal. Multiple casualties were treated for severe, moderate, and light injuries, including two 14-year-olds hit by shrapnel.

Medical teams provided life-saving treatment, including stopping bleeding and bandaging wounds. The injured were evacuated by MDA ambulances and IDF helicopters to various hospitals, including Ziv Medical Center, Rambam Health Care Campus, and the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya, while receiving ongoing medical care.