One IDF soldier died and three others were injured after a grenade accidentally exploded in their room on an IDF training base in the West Bank's Jordan Valley, the military said Sunday morning.
According to the army, a loud blast was heard Saturday night coming from one of the dormitory rooms on the base which is believed to have been caused by a grenade stored in a bag in the room that exploded accidentally after being moved or hit.
The three injured soldiers were rushed to the hospital, one of them in moderate condition and the other two having sustained light injuries.
An Initial probe into the incident found that seven soldiers were in the room at the time the grande exploded.
Estimates say that the 40 mm grenade was likely intended to be used as ammunition for a grenade launcher, and was found by the soldiers during live fire training. A soldier likely stored the grenade in his bag, against IDF procedures of disposing of live ammunition.
According to witnesses at the scene, the soldier, who was trained in using a grenade launcher, didn’t load the grenade into his rifle and had no intention of gunplay. Investigation into the grenade’s casing also indicated that it wasn’t fired.
While the military estimates that while the soldiers didn’t misuse their firearms, they broke strict safety orders that say that no live ammunition can be brought into and stored inside the soldiers’ dormitories.
Live ammunition is distributed to soldiers by their officers during exercises, and orders state that should live, unfired ammunition be found during the exercise it should be marked and reported, and that exercises should stop until the ammunition is removed accordingly.
The investigation now attempts to look into when and why the soldier picked up the grenade during the exercise, and if any of the soldiers in his unit know about the grenade. The military added that the soldiers were still in active training and that the grenade was not given to the soldier prior to the incident.
On January 3, Corporal Baruch Kabrat was killed in a firearm incident at a military base in central Israel due to a stray bullet hitting him.
The soldier who allegedly discharged the bullet was arrested, and in his investigation, he claimed he attempted to operate a malfunction in his firearm. However, during the investigation, it was discovered that he attempted to suppress evidence of the incident.
It has not yet been determined whether the accidental discharge of the weapon was accidental or intentional, similar incidents have been acknowledged as a problem by the military.