BREAKING NEWS

Three IDF officers charged with involuntary manslaughter in soldier's death

Three IDF officers from a classified Military Intelligence unit were indicted on Monday for the death of Cpl. Ilan Yankelevich, who drowned in a water reservoir in southern Israel last year.
Yankelevich, 19, of Netanya drowned in a water reservoir near Kibbutz Kissufim in the Eshkol Regional Council in July 2016 after going in with his force, both soldiers and officers. After Yankelevich’s death and the near deaths of two others, all from the IDF’s intelligence branch, who were swimming with him in a reservoir in which swimming was prohibited, the IDF immediately launched an investigation led by IDF Intelligence head Maj. Gen. Herzi Halevy.
Two officers, including one Maj., were charged with involuntary manslaughter, while the third officer was charged with negligence. One of the officers who was charged was the commander who authorized the soldiers entering the reservoir, and the other was the one who planned it and participated in it. The third officer, who was not part of its planning was accused of dereliction for taking part in the activity.
All three were dismissed from their jobs following the incident.