An annual school field trip for students of the ORT Ma’alot Yeshiva High School ended in tragedy on Monday when explosive ordnance detonated along the Ramim Ridge in northern Israel, between Kibbutzim Manara and Yiftah.
According to Magen David Adom (MDA), a 14-year-old boy was killed at the scene, and 24 other people—students and staff members—were injured.
Three victims sustained serious injuries (including two teenagers and an adult), nine were moderately wounded, and 12 suffered light injuries, bringing the total number of casualties to 25.
3+According to initial on-site IDF debriefs, the blast was likely triggered by an unexploded Hezbollah cluster bomblet left behind in the terrain during wartime fire exchanges.
Investigators from the IDF and Israel Police bomb disposal units are probing testimonies and physical findings suggesting that one of the hikers discovered the explosive device along the trail and placed it inside a backpack, after which it detonated near the gathering.
The military stressed that operational searches and formal investigations are ongoing to ensure no further unexploded ordnance remains in the vicinity.
3+Israel Police Commissioner Danny Levy arrived at the scene and said the hike had received formal clearance from authorized bodies.
“To the best of my understanding, this trip received approvals from the relevant authorities,” Levy noted, adding that in coordination with the IDF, northern field trips will be sharply curtailed over the coming days to thoroughly re-evaluate whether approved routes pose unexploded hazard risks to children.
A massive multi-agency rescue effort was mobilized immediately, with MDA, the police, and IDF units deploying ambulances, mobile intensive care units, and three Air Force (Unit 669) helicopters to extract the wounded in challenging terrain.
Fourteen casualties were evacuated to Ziv Medical Center in Safed (one teenager in serious condition, three moderate, and ten light); six were taken to the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya (one teenager in serious condition and five moderate); and four were airlifted to Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa (including an adult undergoing emergency trauma surgery)
3+Following the tragedy, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly halted his official schedule in Samaria and canceled remaining campaign events, returning to his Jerusalem bureau to oversee emergency updates.
Netanyahu held immediate briefings with MDA Director-General Eli Bin, Education Minister Yoav Kisch, and his military secretary to ensure rapid medical evacuations.
3+The Ma’alot-Tarshiha Municipality confirmed that the victims were 7th–9th grade students and staff members from Yeshivat ORT Ma’alot.
Mayor Moti Ben David and municipal emergency teams opened an emergency operations center in coordination with local rescue agencies to support the families.
Education Minister Yoav Kisch expressed deep condolences to the bereaved family and instructed that emotional counseling teams be embedded with the school community while official inquiries continue