An IDF soldier was severely injured, and an IDF officer was moderately injured after a grenade was improperly thrown during operational activity in southern Lebanon on Friday evening, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit cleared for publication Sunday morning.
The two — a conscript soldier who was seriously wounded and a combat officer who was moderately wounded — were evacuated for medical treatment at Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa. The IDF is investigating the circumstances of the incident.
The incident occurred at around 8:30 p.m. in the village of Majdal Zoun in southern Lebanon. A force from the Gefen Battalion, which includes officer cadets from the IDF Officers School and is operating in the sector under the 91st Division, was engaged in operational activity when one of the soldiers threw a grenade improperly.
IDF soldiers operate in southern Lebanon, archives
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
The explosion wounded the soldier who threw the grenade as well as another soldier who was with him. One was seriously wounded and the other moderately wounded. They received initial treatment at the scene and were later evacuated to Rambam Hospital.
The incident is under investigation. Among other things, the IDF is examining the technique used by the soldier when throwing the grenade, as well as the possibility that the grenade struck an object after it was thrown, causing the soldiers to be hit.
In a separate incident, also on Friday in southern Lebanon, eight IDF soldiers were lightly wounded in an operational traffic accident involving two vehicles. The soldiers were evacuated to a hospital for medical treatment, and their families were notified. The circumstances of that incident are also under investigation.