14-year-old boy identified as victim of explosion after high school trip was approved in unsafe area near border

The 14-year-old victim of the accidental explosion during a high school hike in northern Israel on Monday was identified as Elazar Yair Wilensky, a ninth-grader from the town of Ma’alot-Tarshiha.

Wilensky, the youngest of five siblings, was described by his family as “a child full of life. Smart and intelligent, full of joy, a good and beloved friend, with his entire future still ahead of him.”

Initial investigations showed that one of the students, presumably Wilensky, picked up an unexploded munition during a break that later detonated. The ordnance is suspected to be a leftover submunition of a Hezbollah cluster warhead fired at Israel at some point during the ongoing war.

A report by Army Radio on Tuesday suggested the area of the hike had not been properly cleared after recent fighting, despite the high school having received all necessary permits. However, the Education Ministry argued that the hiking route didn’t enter the unsafe area.

Five children remained in serious condition on Tuesday, including one who is sedated and ventilated at Ziv Medical Center in Safed, according to media reports. Overall, 24 students and teachers were wounded by the explosion.

Photos show the submunition from a Hezbollah rocket before it exploded on children and teachers during a school hike in the Ramim Ridge area, killing a teenager and wounding 24. https://t.co/Zfa2PlBG2x

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) October 12, 2026

On Monday evening, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went to Rambam Hospital visited some of the wounded who are being treated at Rambam Hospital in Haifa, together with Education Minister Yoav Kisch.

14-year-old Eitan Masauri, who was injured by shrapnel in his neck, recounted to the prime minister: “He unscrewed it, and then it exploded; the guys were thrown back. There was a moment of shock, about two seconds, and then I was told I was bleeding. I realized I was bleeding from my neck. I realized I was hurt; I saw that a friend was injured, and I tried to help him.”

Netanyahu’s office said the prime minister ordered the IDF Home Front Command to reinforce existing guidelines and warnings for the general public, emphasizing the strict prohibition against touching unexploded ordnance and to conduct extensive searches to locate unexploded items.

Authorities have launched extensive campaigns warning the public to stay away from unexploded or leftover munition and even shrapnel parts, and to immediately call the police.

After the incident, the Education Ministry announced that group trips scheduled in the coming days along the Lebanese border were being diverted to alternative routes.

The ministry added that it had “sharpened” safety guidelines “with an emphasis on caution against munitions throughout the country.”

According to the police, the trip had received all necessary permits to enter the area on the Ramim Ridge, near the town of Manara.

However, the chairman of the Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF), Eyal Ostrinsky, told Army Radio on Tuesday morning that the forested area in the Upper Galilee panhandle where the group was hiking “has not been cleared for safety reasons—infrastructure, burned trees, and we have still not finished dealing with it.”

“Until last June, it was impossible to carry out any work there. Only on June 22 did we begin preparing this forest for reopening, and apart from the road itself, which is critical for security forces, all the rest of the area consists of places we have still not finished preparing,” said Ostrinsky.

“We passed the information on to all our partners. To the best of my understanding and knowledge, it was also received by the Education Ministry’s situation room, which is operated by the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel. They also recently asked KKL-JNF whether the site had reopened, and the answer was no,” he added.

Army Radio noted that the Education Ministry’s Trip Coordination Office states that “trips at this site are prohibited due to rehabilitation following war damage.”

The Israeli military confirms that the ordnance that exploded on children and teachers during a school hike in the Ramim Ridge area in northern Israel was likely a cluster submunition from a Hezbollah rocket. "An initial investigation by IDF forces at the site indicates that it was likely a cluster bomb belonging to the Hezbollah terror organization that had been left in the area and exploded," the military says. The IDF says the incident is under further review, and that army sappers are continuing to scan the area. Israel Police Commissioner Danny Levi also tells reporters at the scene that police sappers have determined that the ordnance was likely a submunition from a Hezbollah rocket. Also speaking at the scene, commander of the Israel Police's Northern District, Dep. Comm. Meir Eliyahu, says that the ordnance exploded "in the hands" of one of the schoolchildren who were hiking along the Naftali Mountains Forest scenic route, killing one and injuring 24 others. The hike had been approved by authorities, according to Levi, who adds that he will issue an order limiting hikes in the area for several days until it is confirmed that the route is clear of any ordnance.

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) October 12, 2026

The Education Ministry in response disputed this account, arguing that the hiking tour did not pass through the prohibited area. It also argued that “explicit safety instructions were also provided, including an absolute prohibition on touching unexploded missiles or ammunition, along with instructions to report any such items immediately.”

“The circumstances of the incident and the route as it was actually taken are now being investigated as part of an inquiry by the IDF and the police, in cooperation with the Education Ministry and the relevant professional authorities.”

Army Radio’s military correspondent, Doron Kadosh, commented on the issue by noting that “Unexploded ordnance can be found anywhere, including in many open areas and in places that appear to be open to the public and available for hiking, and that have supposedly been ‘cleared’ by security forces.”

“Therefore, an incident like yesterday’s tragedy on the Ramim Ridge could theoretically have occurred in many other areas that are open to hikers and the general public. That is precisely why public awareness is a critical issue: from farmers to civilians out hiking to schoolchildren. Estimates suggest that hundreds or thousands of different types of unexploded ordnance from all the recent years of fighting may still be present in northern areas,” said Kadosh.

“My heart is broken by the terrible tragedy in the north,” President Isaac Herzog stated in the evening.

“A student who left home to go on a trip with his classmates, for a day of experiences amid the landscapes of our country, will never return to his family’s embrace. There are no words that can contain this pain, and no comfort for such a terrible loss. This is part of the heavy and painful price of the complex security reality Israel faces, which leaves its mark even in places where our children should be protected and safe, free to travel, explore, and enjoy themselves,” he continued.

“I extend my heartfelt condolences to the family that has lost what is dearest to them. I embrace them in this difficult time and pray for the safety and recovery of all those injured,” Herzog added.