Four IDF soldiers were killed and seven were severely injured in the incident in which a UAV exploded in Binyamina, it was cleared for publication overnight Sunday.
The four soldiers have been named as: Sergeant Omri Tamari, 19 years old from Mazkeret Batya; Sergeant Yosef Hieb, 19, from Tuba-Zangariyye; Sergeant Yoav Agmon, 19, from Binyamina; and Sergeant Amitay Alon, 19, from Ramot Naftali.
All were soldiers in infantry training at the Golani Training Base in the Golani Brigade.
The UAV, which was launched by the Hezbollah terrorist organization, directly hit the dining room at the Golani divisional training base, while dozens of recent recruits were inside eating dinner.
In all, 51 soldiers were injured in the incident, including nine in moderate condition. The rest are in light condition. All the injured individuals have been evacuated to hospitals and their families have been notified.
The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said, “The incident is being examined. The IDF shares in the grief of the bereaved families and will continue to accompany them.”
Magen David Adom said on Sunday night that it treated a total of 61 victims, among them three in serious condition, 18 in moderate condition and 31 in light condition. Nine were treated for anxiety.
Rescue teams tended to the wounded and evacuated them to hospitals. Some of the wounded were airlifted to hospitals in central Israel.
Seven victims were evacuated to Laniado Hospital in Netanya, including five mildly injured and two who suffered from anxiety.
Six were evacuated to Haemek Hospital in Afula, including four mildly injured and two who suffered from anxiety.
10 victims were evacuated to Hillel Yaffe Hospital in Hadera, five them in moderate condition and five who were mildly injured, three were taken to Rambam Hospital in Haifa (one in critical condition, one in moderate condition, and one in mild condition), three in serious condition were taken to Sheba Hospital, two people who suffered from anxiety were evacuated to Carmel Hospital in Haifa.
Three people who suffered from anxiety were taken to Bnei Zion Hospital in Haifa, and three victims were evacuated to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva, among them two in moderate condition and one in mild condition.
MDA Paramedic Aviv Cohen, who was at the scene, said, "We arrived at the scene in large numbers from Magen David Adom, the injured were brought to us, and we began evacuating them via IDF helicopters and ambulances to hospitals. There was a lot of commotion at the scene, and it was a serious event, but we managed to evacuate the injured quickly to hospital for continued medical care."
MDA paramedic Rafi Sheva reported, "This was a very difficult scene; we declared it a mass casualty event and treated patients suffering from blast injuries and shrapnel. The injuries were severe, and we evacuated the injured to hospitals as quickly as possible for further medical treatment."
Eyewitnesses reported that no siren was sounded before the UAV exploded. The IAF is investigating why an alert was not sounded. This is the highest number of casualties in a single event since Hamas’ October 7, 2023 massacre.
An initial investigation revealed that the UAV was not detected by the detection systems, did not activate a single warning, and no attempts were made to intercept it. A siren that was activated at 7:00 p.m. in Talmei Elazar, near the scene of the incident, was not related to the UAV incident, and was activated due to the interception of a different UAV.
The IDF says that the UAV did not launch missiles and it was not an Iranian-made UAV. Some reports said the UAV was a “Ziyad 107” type drone which had a flight range of about 100 km.
UAVs of this type penetrated Israel's airspace dozens of times throughout the war and caused damage to sites and buildings.