A 14-year-old boy was killed, and 24 people were injured in an explosion involving an unexploded Hezbollah cluster munition between Kibbutz Manara and Kibbutz Yiftah in northern Israel on Monday, the IDF reported. The military has declared the incident a mass-casualty event.
Students and staff members from the ORT Ma’alot Yeshiva High School were among the victims, according to a statement by the local municipality. Haifa’s Rambam Health Care Campus said it admitted three teenagers and one adult to the trauma unit after evacuating them from the scene, while Safed’s Ziv Medical Center is treating 14 injured victims in total. Nahariya’s Galilee Medical Center is treating an additional six victims, one of whom was seriously injured.
The municipality noted that the students were in the area on an annual field trip, with the Israel Fire and Rescue Authority saying that a preliminary investigation showed evidence that one of the students put the Hezbollah cluster munition into his bag, which later detonated. According to Magen David Adom, two of those seriously injured were 14 years old, with eight of those moderately injured being children, as well as 12 of those with minor injuries.
IDF, rescue helicopters, bomb disposal teams, MDA paramedics respond
Northern District police officers and bomb disposal experts responded to the incident, as well as IDF and Hatzalah helicopters and MDA paramedics.
Israel Police Commissioner Daniel Levi and Northern District Commander Meir Eliyahu also arrived on scene to assess the situation, with the commissioner later noting that the field trip “received approval from the relevant authorities” to the best of his knowledge.
Parents of victim: Children were praying together when explosion occured
Parents of several of the victims said that the students were in the middle of praying together when the explosion occured, which contributed to the large number of casualties.
"My son called first, and we guided him on how to apply a tourniquet to himself," said Dvir Klein, father to victim Itay Klein, who suffered a leg injury. "The boys showed amazing responsibility."
"I believe the war of the past three years has prepared both the medical teams and us, the civilians," he added. "This includes the awareness shown by the teenagers, who took responsibility in an amazing way."
Klein noted that, while his son told him one of the students had touched the unexploded ordnance, he believed "it is right for the accurate, true facts to be known, rather than just my son's account."
"I think it is appropriate for those who have the full, correct information to share it with the families and the injured, not me," he emphasized.
MDA personnel recount experiences at scene of explosion
An MDA medical technician at the scene of the explosion said he witnessed children holding and assisting their injured friends when he arrived.
“Everyone tried to help their friends as best they could,” he said. “Some even applied tourniquets to their friends to stop the bleeding.”
MDA paramedics described the chaos on scene, with one noting the variety of injuries among the victims.
“There was a great deal of commotion and shouting at the scene,” he recalled. “We found several casualties with varying degrees of injury lying on the access path from the main road, while others were walking around the area.”
An operations center staffed by social workers and psychologists has been set up in the area “to provide care for the students,” Ma’alot Mayor Moti Ben-David told Army Radio later on Monday. A bus was sent to collect non-injured students at the scene.
An additional site to treat victims suffering from shock was set up at Ziv Medical Center, including a dedicated team for the treatment of children and teenagers, according to the Health Ministry.
Beterem CEO: Parents should speak to children about danger of unexploded ordnance
Orly Silvinger, CEO of the child safety organization Beterem, said the incident calls attention to the danger unexploded ordnance poses to children and that parents must teach them not to touch, or even go near, suspicious objects.
“To a child, unexploded ordnance may look like an intriguing, harmless object, but it can be deadly,” she emphasized.
“Parents, do not assume, ‘It won’t happen to us.’ Make it clear to children of all ages, including teenagers, that if they see a suspicious object, they must not approach, touch, or try to move it. They should move away, tell an adult immediately, and call 100 to report it to the police. A simple, clear conversation with children can save lives.”
According to data compiled by the organization, three children were killed, and 10 were injured in incidents involving landmines, explosives, or unexploded ordnance between 2016 and 2026.
Meit Asher Regional Council head Moshe Davidovitz reiterated the call for citizens to be “vigilant on trips,” asking them not to approach unexploded ordnance and to report any sightings to the authorities.