Early Sunday evening an explosion took place on Yochanan Ben Zakkai St. in Elad in a residential building. At first, the cause of the explosion was unclear, but later it was clarified that the explosion was caused by children playing with a grenade that they had found in a forested area.  

According to United Hatzalah volunteers who responded to the scene one of the children was moderately injured while others were lightly injured and numerous others were treated for shock.

The children had brought the grenade with them to a lobby between two four-story buildings where it went off. According to Fire and Rescue services, a piece of shrapnel from the exploded grenade hit a gas canister belonging to one of the building and Fire and Rescue crews were working to shut off the gas leak. Five firefighting crews answered the emergency call from the Elad and Petach Tikvah emergency units.

Sivan Mashiach, a United Hatzalah volunteer paramedic who treated the injured children said: “Together with other volunteers from United Hatzalah who arrived at the scene I treated an 11-year-old boy who was moderate to seriously injured. Another child was light to moderately wounded while a third was only lightly injured. Other children who were in the area were treated for shock due to the explosive nature of the incident.”

A spokesperson for the police department said: “We received the call of an explosion on the ground floor of a building in Elad. As a result of the blast the building’s gas infrastructure was damaged and we evacuated the building.  Police forces including the bomb disposal unit are searching the area for additional ammunition and explosives.”

Please be mispallel For Michael ben Dalyah and Avraham ben Chaya, the most seriously injured.

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(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)