Blast on school hike near Lebanon border wounds about 20 students and teachers

An explosion struck a group of students and teachers on a school hike in northern Israel near the Lebanese border on Monday, wounding about 20 people. The Times of Israel, citing Magen David Adom, reported that one person was in critical condition, two were seriously hurt, three were moderately hurt and some 15 more were being checked at the scene in good condition. The blast is believed to have been caused by unexploded ordnance, though authorities have not confirmed that.

Several outlets reported a death. Ynet reported that one person was killed and put the number hurt at about 20, two of them seriously. The Jerusalem Post reported one killed and 19 wounded, and Israel Hayom also reported one fatality. Later updates relayed from the ambulance service itself described the most badly hurt person as critically wounded rather than dead. The reports reviewed here do not settle the discrepancy.

Who was hurt and where

Haaretz, citing the Ma'alot-Tarshiha Municipality, reported that the group was from the ORT Ma'alot religious high school and was on a field trip near Kibbutz Yiftah. The municipality said in a statement that students and staff were hurt during the school's annual trip, and that Mayor Moti Ben David and city teams had gone to the area. Ben David later told Army Radio that the city had set up a situation room of social workers and psychologists for the students, according to News.co.il.

Most reports place the explosion near the Pe'er observation point on the Ramim Ridge, a high area of the Upper Galilee close to the Lebanese border. Magen David Adom said the scene was within the Upper Galilee Regional Council, and Israel Hayom described the location as the Galilee Panhandle, the northern finger of Israeli territory between Lebanon and the Golan Heights. One early Abu Ali Express post placed it near Neot Mordechai.

A father of one student told Ynet that the group had begun walking the Israel National Trail that day when they heard an explosion. Another father, named only as Eliyahu, told N12 that the pupils were from middle and upper grades, that his son was unharmed, and that the trip had been properly arranged and approved.

How the casualty count changed

Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel's national emergency medical and ambulance service, said its 101 emergency line received the call at 14:53 and initially reported about 10 people hurt. A later MDA statement said medics were treating 8 people in serious and moderate condition plus several more with light injuries, and that an MDA rescue helicopter and military helicopters had been sent. News.co.il gave a breakdown of one critical patient undergoing resuscitation, 3 serious and 4 moderate, while Haaretz cited MDA as saying three were in serious condition. Figures shifted repeatedly during the first hour and should be read as provisional.

What a 'nefel' is

Hebrew-language reports describe the cause as a nefel, the term for a dud: a shell, rocket or other munition that failed to explode when fired and remained live on the ground. An MDA paramedic quoted by News.co.il said the hikers had apparently stepped on one. News.co.il also reported that 3 Israeli Air Force helicopters were sent with rescuers from Unit 669, the air force's search and rescue unit, along with bomb disposal teams from Yahalom, the military engineering unit that handles explosives, to deal with the device and any others in the area. Ynet reported 14 ambulances were dispatched.

Official responses

The Israel Defense Forces said soldiers were at the scene to help and that air force helicopters were on the way, adding that the circumstances were being reviewed. Haaretz reported that the army is examining whether the trip had received the approvals required before it went ahead, which sits alongside the father's account that it was approved.

The Education Ministry called the incident extremely serious and said it was working with security forces to support students, staff and families. The Prime Minister's Office said Benjamin Netanyahu had spoken with MDA director Eli Bin, Education Minister Yoav Kisch and his military secretary, asked that the wounded be evacuated to hospital as quickly as possible, and was holding ongoing assessments.

What the reports do not say

The reports do not agree on whether anyone died, and none reviewed here names a victim. They do not identify the type or origin of the munition, or how long it had been at the site. The cause remains described as likely rather than confirmed. No report states which hospitals received the wounded or gives updated conditions after evacuation, and the outcome of the army's inquiry into the trip's approvals has not been reported.