World

Explosion Near Lebanese Border Claims One Life, Injures 19 in Northern Israel

By Al Jazeera Staff

An explosion near the Lebanese border in northern Israel killed one person and injured 19 others, according to preliminary official figures. The blast was attributed to unexploded ordnance. Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz expressed his condolences to the family of the boy who died and wished a full recovery for the injured, noting that authorities were investigating the cause. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar identified the victim as a 15‑year‑old student who had been on an annual school trip. Earlier police statements suggested that the explosion was likely caused by an unexploded ordnance, resulting in about 20 people being injured with varying severity. The incident occurred near the community of Neot Mordechai, between Kibbutz Manara and Kibbutz Yiftach, and affected students and staff from a religious high school on an outing, according to the municipality of Maalot‑Tarshiha. The area is heavily deployed with Israeli military forces, and the northern border with Lebanon remains a zone of ongoing military activity. Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh, reporting from Ramallah, said some of the injured are in critical condition and described the incident as a reminder of the continued military operations and the thousands of munitions used over the past three years. Odeh noted that the explosion prompted political action, with Prime Minister Netanyahu visiting the area and National Security Minister Ben Gvir canceling a scheduled engagement. Tens of thousands of Israelis in the north have been displaced since Hezbollah began firing rockets after Israel’s 2023 Gaza war, and many have not returned due to concerns about security. Israeli forces have dispatched soldiers and helicopters to the scene, following a period of renewed hostilities in southern Lebanon.