not everywhere· Security· Updated 13:36

School Trip Approved Despite Warning, Student Killed by Ordnance

A 14-year-old student, Elazar Yair Vilensky, was killed and 24 other people were injured on Monday, October 12, 2026, when an unexploded Hezbollah cluster munition detonated during a school trip on the Ramim Ridge in northern Israel. The explosion occurred during an annual excursion for 50 students and teachers from the ORT Ma'alot religious high school. Tenth-grade students took charge of the emergency, using their shirts to provide first aid to injured teachers and younger students before local authorities and the Home Front Command arrived.

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School Trip Approved Despite Warning, Student Killed by Ordnance — Illustration by baba

What happened

01Fourteen-year-old Elazar Yair Vilensky was killed and 24 others were injured by an unexploded Hezbollah munition on the Ramim Ridge.
02The explosion occurred on Monday, October 12, 2026, during a school trip for 50 students and teachers from ORT Ma'alot.
03The Ministry of Education approved the itinerary, but documents show the route may have inadvertently led students onto a closed trail.
04KKL-JNF denied approving the route and stated that the area was closed to the public due to war damage.
05Tenth-grade students administered first aid to injured teachers and classmates using their shirts before emergency services arrived at the scene.
06The IDF, the police, and the Ministry of Education have launched investigations into the route approval and the detonation.
07Responsibility for clearing unexploded ordnance in northern Israel's open areas is currently disputed between the police and the Ministry of Defense.

The tragedy has sparked a dispute over the trip's approval and the presence of unexploded ordnance near the Lebanese border. The Ministry of Education stated that its situation room approved a route that avoided areas closed by KKL-JNF, and that it provided explicit safety instructions, including a ban on touching ordnance. However, KKL-JNF denied any involvement in the approval, stating that entry to the area was prohibited due to war damage, while tour guides criticized the ministry's approval process as disconnected from the reality on the ground. Documents suggest the ministry approved a route that combined two parallel trails, one of which was closed.

Investigations by the IDF, the police, and the Ministry of Education are underway to determine the exact route taken and the circumstances of the detonation. The incident has renewed concerns over unexploded ordnance in northern Israel, where responsibility for clearing open areas remains disputed between the police and the Ministry of Defense.

Summarized by baba from the reports of 7 newsrooms. Updated 13:57