not everywhere· Security· Updated
Yeshiva Head Praises Students' Quick Thinking After Deadly Hiking Accident
A school trip in northern Israel turned tragic on Monday when an unexploded munition detonated, killing 14-year-old student Elazar Yair Wilensky and injuring 24 other students and teachers. The incident occurred in the Ramim Ridge area near the Lebanese border, close to Kibbutz Yiftah and Kibbutz Manara. Initial investigations suggest that a student found an unexploded munition, believed to be a Hezbollah cluster submunition, and placed it in his backpack, where it subsequently exploded.
8 newsrooms · 3 languages · since
What happened
- 01Fourteen-year-old student Elazar Yair Wilensky was killed and 24 others were injured by an unexploded Hezbollah munition during a school trip in northern Israel.
- 02The explosion occurred on Monday afternoon in the Ramim Ridge area near the Lebanese border.
- 03Initial findings indicate a student found the unexploded cluster submunition and placed it in his backpack, where it detonated.
- 04Injured students and teachers were hospitalized across northern Israel, with several children remaining in serious condition.
- 05The school trip was approved despite KKL-JNF warnings of war damage and an absolute ban on entering the forest.
- 06The Education Ministry claimed the approved route was unrestricted, while KKL-JNF asserted the trail was officially closed.
- 07Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the wounded and ordered the IDF to reinforce safety guidelines on unexploded ordnance.
- 08All school hikes in northern Israel were canceled for the following two days as investigations by the IDF and police continue.
Following the blast, students used improvised tourniquets made from belts and socks to treat the wounded before emergency services arrived. The injured were evacuated to several hospitals, including Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa, Ziv Medical Center in Safed, and Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya. Several children remain in serious condition, with one sedated and on a ventilator. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the wounded at Rambam Hospital and ordered the IDF Home Front Command to reinforce safety guidelines regarding unexploded ordnance.
An investigation is underway into how the school trip was approved for the area. Documents show the Education Ministry's trip coordination center authorized a route that may have confused two parallel trails, one of which was closed due to war damage. While the Education Ministry maintained that the approved route was not in a restricted zone, the Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) stated that the trail remained closed. Following the tragedy, all school hikes in northern Israel were canceled for the subsequent two days.
Summarized by baba from the reports of 8 newsrooms. Updated
Latest report: 0404. Read 0404’s original
The coverage
8 newsrooms on this story
Who covered it
- LeftNone
- Centre5
- Right3
- HarediNone
- ArabNone
Not in the Left or Arab press
