Elazar Yair Wilensky z”l, a 14-year-old ninth-grade student at ORT Ma’alot Yeshiva High School, was killed Monday when unexploded ordnance detonated during a school hiking trip near Mitzpe Pe’er on the Ramim Ridge in the Upper Galilee.
Ynet, which identified him as Yair Wilensky, reported that his family described him as “a child of life, smart and perceptive, full of joy, a good and beloved friend, whose entire future was still ahead of him.” He was the youngest of five children and leaves behind his parents, three sisters and a brother.
The blast occurred on the first day of the school’s annual hike along the Israel National Trail, with about 50 students and teachers taking part. Magen David Adom received the first report at 2:53 p.m. Authorities said 23 to 24 people were hurt, including three seriously. Helicopters, ambulances and bomb disposal teams were sent to the scene, and the wounded were taken to Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa, Ziv Medical Center in Tzfat and Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya.
The IDF said an initial investigation indicates the device was likely a Hezbollah cluster submunition left in the area. According to preliminary findings, a student picked up the ordnance and put it in his bag, where it exploded. Police have not determined whether the boy who was killed was holding it when it detonated. The IDF is investigating how the ordnance remained in an area that had been inspected.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the wounded at Rambam and instructed the head of the Home Front Command to reinforce warnings about unexploded ordnance. Education Minister Yoav Kisch said the route had been approved and the safety briefing included a warning about unexploded ordnance. He ordered a 48-hour suspension of school trips near the northern border and the Golan Heights.
Police urged the public to keep away from suspicious objects and report them to the emergency line at 100. The Ma’alot-Tarshiha municipality asked the public to respect the privacy of the students and their families and to avoid spreading unverified information.
