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<\/a><\/p>\nIsraeli security and rescue forces evacuate injured people near the site where suspected unexploded ordnance detonated near Kibbutz Yiftah in the Ramim Ridge area, October 12, 2026. Photo by Ayal Margolin\/Flash90<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cAn initial investigation by IDF forces at the site indicates that it was likely a cluster bomb belonging to the Hezbollah terror organization that had been left in the area and exploded,\u201d the military said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe injured were scattered along the route, some trying to help their wounded friends,\u201d explained David Radko, an MDA medic who said he was the first to arrive on the scene. \u201cDespite the horrific scenes and distress, the injured cooperated with me exceptionally well. Everyone tried to help their friends as much as they could. Some even applied tourniquets to their friends to stop the bleeding.\u201d<\/p>\n
Police Commissioner Danny Levy visited the scene and said authorities may ban similar school trips in the near future. \u201cWe need to examine whether we are putting students at risk by allowing them to go on these trips,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Tamir Douadi, a resident of Kibbutz Manara, described the scene in a voice cracking with emotion to Channel 12: \u201cLook, they\u2019re young people, children. You see them sitting there like that, holding their friends.\u201d<\/p>\n
The object exploded \u201cin the hands\u201d of one of the schoolchildren, Comm. Meir Eliyahu, commander of the Israel Police\u2019s Northern District told reporters at the scene. <\/p>\n
Orly Ben Simon, an MDA paramedic, said personnel identified several people with injuries of varying severity, including a 14-year-old boy who was unconscious and in critical condition. \u201cWe immediately began prolonged and intensive resuscitation efforts. Unfortunately, his injuries were critical, and we had to pronounce him dead at the scene,\u201d she said in a statement provided by the MDA.<\/p>\n
She added that medical teams treated two teenagers who were seriously injured, as well as other injured people who were able to walk.<\/p>\n
In an initial statement, the Ma\u2019alot-Tarshiha municipality said the explosion occurred during an annual hiking trip by students from the ORT Ma\u2019alot religious high school, located in the mixed Jewish-Arab town, about five miles from the Lebanese border. The entire area has come under heavy fire from Hezbollah since Oct. 7, 2023, and some of the munitions have failed to detonate.<\/p>\n
MDA said the injured included 22 teenagers and two adults in their 50s. Two of the injured were in serious condition and 10 were in moderate condition. They were evacuated by ambulance and helicopter to hospitals in Haifa, Safed and Nahariya.<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s Education Ministry described the incident as \u201cextremely serious.\u201d According to the ministry, the trip was properly approved in accordance with established procedures. Ma\u2019alot-Tarshiha Mayor Moti Ben David told Israeli media that the route was a popular hiking trail.<\/p>\n