An IDF soldier was killed overnight Sunday by a grenade explosion at the Beka’ot recruitment base of the Kfir Brigade in the Jordan Valley. Three other soldiers were injured in the incident, one of them seriously. The explosion was the result of a fallen grenade that was collected from the area contrary to instructions and put into the residences.
According to a preliminary investigation, this was not part of a game with weapons or ammunition.
The injured were evacuated to hospitals in Jerusalem and Tel Hashomer. The military police are investigating the circumstances of the incident.
A loud explosion was heard just before midnight in the room of some of the fighters who were in a rest period during advanced training. The source of the explosion was a grenade launcher. There were seven soldiers in the room at the time of the incident. Immediately after the explosion, a helicopter of the IDF Airborne Combat Rescue And Evacuation Unit 669 was launched to the scene to evacuate the wounded (one serious, 2 minor). A short time later, military physicians determined the death of the mortally wounded soldier.
The preliminary investigation found that the grenade-launcher grenade was collected during a training session and was thought to be a dud. The soldiers were instructed not to touch it, to circle it with marking tape and report it to their superiors. Instead, the dud was apparently taken from the area, contrary to the instructions. The explosion took place inside the bag of the killed fighter. The other soldiers in the room testified that they did not see the fighter fiddling with his weapon or the grenade.
44 soldiers died from weapons-related accidents in 2022, and 31 in 2021.
