Netanyahu visits wounded after Galilee blast kills teen

Prime Minister Netanyahu today (Photo: Prime Minister's Office)

A 15-year-old boy was killed and approximately 19 others wounded, three of them seriously and around ten lightly to moderately, when unexploded ordnance detonated during a school trip in the Upper Galilee this afternoon.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at Rambam Medical Center together with Education Minister Yoav Kish to visit the wounded and their families. The prime minister instructed the head of Home Front Command to sharpen public warnings and instructions, to emphasize the severe prohibition on touching unexploded ordnance, and to conduct wide-area sweeps to locate munitions.

The Prime Minister's Office said shortly after the incident: "Prime Minister Netanyahu was updated on the details of the serious incident in the north and spoke with Magen David Adom director-general Eli Bin, with Education Minister Yoav Kish, and with his military secretary. The prime minister asked to ensure that the wounded are evacuated as quickly as possible to hospitals and continues to hold ongoing situation assessments."

Eitan Masauri, a 14-year-old student who was struck by shrapnel in the neck, told the prime minister: "I understood I was wounded, I saw a friend was injured, I tried to help him."

The explosion occurred at midday in open terrain near Kibbutz Naot Mordechai, during a school trip for middle and high school students. An Education Ministry official said the trip had been approved by the ministry and that between 45 and 48 students and a small number of staff members participated.

A preliminary investigation raises suspicion that one of the students placed the munition in his bag before it exploded. "It could have exploded on the bus," one source involved in the investigation was quoted as saying, referring to the severity of an incident that could have ended in a far greater disaster.

Rescue and medical forces were immediately dispatched to the scene, along with Magen David Adom and Air Force helicopters. Itzik Shoshan, director of MDA's Jordan region, who was present at the scene, said: "Upon receiving the report of an explosion in open terrain in the Upper Galilee Regional Council, we quickly left for the scene with large forces of ambulances, intensive care units, and an MDA helicopter that was also dispatched."

Tamir, a member of the standby squad at nearby Kibbutz Manara, described the terrible moments: "When I arrived I saw children scattered everywhere at the scene, wounded. I began treating them, I had to take command because I was the only one there. Another fellow from United Hatzalah arrived with me and helped me there. I saw it was a mass-casualty event. We performed resuscitation on one of the children and I applied tourniquets on several boys and youths who were there."

Police Commissioner Insp.-Gen. Danny Levy held a situation assessment at the explosion site together with Northern District Commander Ch. Supt. Meir Elihu, commanders, and professional personnel. The commissioner praised the professional work of the officers and bomb disposal experts operating at the scene and instructed that operations continue to examine the circumstances of the incident.

In a situation assessment held at the scene, it was decided to halt trips to the area for the coming days, until the full picture of the disaster becomes clear and visitors to the area have complete security.

An IDF spokesperson said: "Following the explosion that occurred in the north of the country, from a preliminary investigation by IDF forces at the site it appears that this was likely a Hezbollah cluster bomb that remained in the area and exploded. The incident is still under investigation. IDF forces continue to sweep and operate in the area."

An update from Ziv Medical Center: "To date, 13 wounded from the Ramas Ridge incident have been brought to Ziv Medical Center in Tzfat, among them: two in serious condition, one with head and limb injuries, who is now undergoing imaging tests and is expected to enter surgery afterward."

The Education Ministry said in response to the incident: "This is an extremely serious incident, and our thoughts are with the wounded and their families. The Education Ministry is working in cooperation with the security forces and all professional bodies to provide a response to the students, the educational staff, and their families. We ask that people act responsibly and refrain from spreading unverified information, while the details of the incident are still being clarified."

United Torah Judaism chairman MK Yaakov Asher arrived at the gravesite of the Rashbi in Meron, where he offered prayers for the recovery of those wounded in the serious incident. MK Asher came to Meron after participating earlier in the opening of the party's election headquarters in the city of Tzfat, and immediately after hearing details of the serious disaster, made his way to the gravesite of the Tanna Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai in order to pray for the recovery of the wounded.