If You Didn't Drop It, Don't Pick It Up
A boy was killed on a school hike in the Galil on 12 October 2026. A gentle page for families about what to do with unknown objects.
A boy was killed on a school hike in the Galil on 12 October 2026. A gentle page for families about what to do with unknown objects.
By Aryeh Leib Thorne Toren
On Monday afternoon, 12 October 2026, students and teachers from the ORT Ma’alot school were hiking the Naftali Mountains Forest route on the Ramim Ridge, close to the Lebanese border. At about 15:30 an object exploded. A 14-year-old boy was killed, and more than twenty students and adults were hurt, some seriously.
The IDF’s preliminary finding is that it was most likely a cluster submunition from a Hezbollah rocket that had been left in the area. According to the first investigation, one of the children found it, put it in his backpack, and minutes later it went off. The army says the review is continuing, and sappers are searching the area. The police said hikes there would be limited for several days.
That is all we know so far, and it is enough to grieve. A child picked up something interesting on a walk, as children have done forever. Our hearts are with his family, his classmates and his teachers, and we pray for the full recovery of everyone hurt.
Leftover munitions can look like nothing: a small metal can, a tube, a ball, a piece with a ribbon or fins. They can sit in grass for months. After a war, the land itself needs time to be made safe.
Four rules for the family
1. Don’t touch. If you didn’t drop it, don’t pick it up. Not with a hand, not with a stick, not with a foot.
2. Step back. Move away the way you came, and keep others away.
3. Remember the place. Notice a tree, a rock or a sign, so you can describe where it is.
4. Call. In Israel, call the police at 100 and tell an adult right away.
The Torah says, “Take good care of your lives” (Devarim 4:15). It also commands a parapet on the roof, “so that you not bring blood upon your house, if anyone falls from it” (Devarim 22:8). Our sages learned from it that we must remove every danger we can from the places where people walk. Teaching a child these four rules is a parapet too.
Please go over them at the table tonight, gently, without frightening anyone. Then let the children practice saying them back.
May G-d comfort the family among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem, heal the wounded, and keep every child who walks our hills.
Prepared in deep partnership and cooperation with Grok and xAI
All glory to the Ribono shel Olam · Errors are mine.
Sources
Also published on Substack.