Students treated classmates after Hezbollah munition blast killed 14-year-old, wounded dozens

The IDF estimates that the munition was a cluster bomb fired by Hezbollah during the war and left unexploded in the area.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Student Magen David Adom volunteers treated wounded classmates after an unexploded Hezbollah cluster munition detonated during an eighth-grade school trip in northern Israel on October 12, 2026, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring 24 people.

The explosion occurred during an annual trip by the ORT Ma’alot Yeshiva High School near Israel’s northern border.

An initial investigation found that a student spotted the object during a break, picked it up and placed it in his bag. It exploded shortly afterward.

The IDF estimates that the munition was a cluster bomb fired by Hezbollah during the war and left unexploded in the area.

MDA said two boys around 14 years old were seriously injured, 10 people were moderately injured and 12 additional boys were lightly injured.

The wounded were taken to Ziv, Rambam and Galilee Medical Center hospitals in Nahariya.

MDA emergency medical technician David Radko, the first responder to reach the scene, said some students were already treating their classmates when he arrived by motorcycle.

“I arrived at the scene first on an MDA motorcycle, and immediately saw the extent of the incident. The injured were scattered along the road, some holding and trying to help their injured friends,” he said.

“Further along the road, I saw the more seriously injured. I immediately began triaging the injured and stopping the bleeding.”

Radko said several students applied arterial tourniquets to wounded classmates and followed his instructions as treatment continued.

MDA paramedic Osama Masoud said emergency crews encountered several seriously wounded students along the path between the road and forest.

A military medical force joined attempts to resuscitate an unconscious boy before he was declared dead.

“We triaged the wounded and began providing rapid medical treatment. Among the wounded were two boys, about 14 years old, who were injured by shrapnel all over their bodies, in addition to other wounded people walking around us,” Masoud said.

MDA paramedic Orly Ben Simon said crews carried out prolonged resuscitation efforts on one of the14-year-olds, but his injuries were critical. Other casualties received treatment for bleeding and shrapnel wounds before evacuation by military helicopters and MDA ambulances.