Officer inspecting dud
Photo: Avihu Shapira
Bedouin woman seriously injured in dud blast
Negev resident's hand severed by shell dud in IDF firing zone. Woman's husband claims she was looking for lumber
A 42-year old Bedouin woman from the Negev was seriously injured Saturday after a dud exploded in an IDF training zone. Paramedics reported that the woman's hand had to be amputated due to the injury, and she was evacuated by helicopter to receive treatment in Beersheba.
More Bedouins Wounded
Hanan Greenberg
Tough day at the office for two Bedouin shepherds; metal detector found at blast scene
According to the report, the woman was injured when she attempted to pick up an IDF shell dud, which exploded in her hand. The police launched an investigation into the incident.
The woman's husband said they had come to the area to herd their sheep. He said his wife had gone to look for lumber for a fire, when suddenly he heard a blast. When he saw his wife's bleeding limb, he drove her to the nearest IDF base, where a doctor treated her.
"When we arrived her hand was already severed, and her legs had also been injured from shrapnel, but she was conscious," a paramedic who arrived at the scene told Ynet. "We called for a helicopter and attempted to find her hand, without success."
IDF sources said the woman had entered an army training area without permission, although the area's perimeter is marked with signs in Hebrew, English, and Arabic. Bedouins living in the Negev have been injured and killed in the past from shell duds left behind by IDF troops training in the area.
