Teen Killed And 24 Wounded In Galilee Ordnance Blast As Israel Considers Suspending School Trips

In the wake of Monday's devastating accident on the Ramim Ridge in the Upper Galilee, Education Minister Yoav Kisch is considering a temporary suspension of school trips to northern Israel. The move comes after a 14-year-old student was killed and 24 other people were wounded when unexploded ordnance detonated during an annual class trip organized by the ORT yeshiva high school in Ma'alot-Tarshiha, close to the Lebanese border.

As the Education Ministry weighed its next steps, it emerged that a warning sign posted by KKL-JNF (the Jewish National Fund) stands near the site of the explosion, reading: "Entry to forests and picnic areas is strictly prohibited." Despite the warning, the trip went ahead along its planned route on the Ramim Ridge, an area where work is currently underway to repair war damage.

A notice on the KKL-JNF website states that "as of May 25, 2025, and until further notice, the Naftali Mountains forest single-track trail and the Naftali Mountains scenic route are closed due to the rehabilitation of war damage."

Officials at KKL-JNF clarified, in response to an inquiry from the ynet website, that the ban remains in effect — both because of the wildfires that swept through the north and in light of the security situation. According to them, the area in question has not yet been cleared of unexploded ordnance.

Police Commissioner Danny Levy addressed the incident in a statement to the media, noting that, to the best of his understanding, the trip had received the required approvals from the relevant authorities. Even so, the commissioner said he too is considering ordering a halt to school trips in the area.

The Ramim Ridge sits just a few kilometers from the Lebanese border. Over the past three years, the area has absorbed numerous Hezbollah attacks that caused widespread damage and left unexploded munitions scattered across the terrain. Most of the ordnance in the area has been cleared by security forces, but the danger has not been fully eliminated — as the KKL-JNF officials' comments about the site of the disaster make clear.