A 14-year-old boy, Elazar Yair Wilensky, was killed and 24 people were injured on Monday when unexploded ordnance detonated during a school trip in the Manara mountain range, roughly 50 to 100 metres from the Lebanese border, Israeli newspaper Maariv reported. The site sits near an Israeli military post that combat engineering troops manned during the war. The Israeli military says Hezbollah fired the device as a cluster munition. Its origin hasn't been independently established.
The blast came as Israeli forces continue to occupy parts of southern Lebanon. They’ve expanded the invasion since fighting with Hezbollah resumed in March, while Israeli strikes have continued despite a framework agreement Beirut and Tel Aviv signed in June, about four months ago. On Monday, Lebanon's Health Ministry said Israeli attacks over the past three years had killed 8,596 people and wounded 30,660.
A Restricted Zone With No Fence
Students from ORT Ma'alot religious high school found the munition while hiking near the border, Haaretz reported. Some handled it and took photographs with it. "He was playing with the bomb," one student told Haaretz. "Some of the kids told him to leave it, but no one thought it contained explosives. We continued along the trail and stopped to pray at one point. After the prayer, he played with it again, put it back in his bag, and then there was a massive explosion."
An initial investigation found that a nearby restricted zone had no physical barrier or clear signs. KKL-JNF officials told Haaretz that the organisation designated the dangerous area off-limits in May 2025, about one year and five months ago, but left it physically accessible, without clear signs or barriers. The organisation said it informed the Education Ministry but lacked authority to approve school trips or seal off the area.
Israel's education ministry said it was investigating whether the students strayed from their approved route. It said the route followed restrictions set by KKL-JNF, which manages the area, and that pre-trip safety instructions prohibited touching unexploded ordnance. The ministry acknowledged it knew KKL-JNF had closed a dangerous route along the Ramim Ridge. It said it approved an alternative that took the restriction into account. That route passed close to another area closed because of unexploded ordnance, but access there remained unrestricted. Investigators are now examining whether the students deviated or the ministry incorrectly defined the route.
Israeli Commentary on Negligence
Haaretz columnist Rogel Alpher wrote that students passed the munition around, put it in bags, photographed themselves holding it and sent the images to their parents. "At least some staff were aware of what was happening, yet they let it happen. They failed to grasp the extent of the danger. The impression is that they did not guide the students, nor had anyone guided them," Alpher wrote. He called the hike, like those Israelis take there during the holidays, a reflection of "ignorance and negligence." He also wrote: "The selfies show that the students knew it was a bomb. Perhaps they saw it as a war souvenir, a trophy of war," and "Their tragic complacency is part of the broader complacency that surrounds this blind state."
A Warning That Covers the Occupied Territories
The US Embassy in Israel issued a safety warning to American citizens on Tuesday about unexploded ordnance across extensive areas of Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The embassy said the danger was particularly great near border areas and that locations often go unmarked. "Rain, flooding, agricultural work, and construction activities frequently bring buried munitions to the surface, making them more unstable," it said. It warned about small, round cluster bomblets that may resemble balls or toys and said: "Assume that any unidentified object is dangerous."
The embassy's rule is recognize, retreat, report. Suspicious objects should be reported to Israel Police at 100. It advised people not to touch ordnance, throw objects at it, use phones or two-way radios nearby, or collect casings, fragments or souvenirs. People should stay on paved roads and familiar trails and avoid areas marked as minefields.
A funeral was held for the boy, described as "a child full of joy, a good and beloved friend." Dozens of towns in northern Israel were evacuated during the conflict.