About 20 injured in northern Israel explosion

An explosion near Neot Mordechai in northern Israel injured about 20 people on Monday, with police saying unexploded ordnance was the initial suspected cause. The circumstances and source of the blast remained under investigation, and casualty figures were preliminary as emergency teams responded. Magen David Adom, Israel’s emergency medical service, said it was treating eight people with serious or moderate injuries, along with others whose injuries were described as mild. Later reports put the overall number injured at approximately 20. The reports did not provide a final tally or a complete breakdown of the injuries. The blast occurred during an outing in the area near the Lebanese border. The Maalot-Tarshiha municipality said students and staff from a religious high school were among those injured. Initial descriptions of the group varied, with reports referring to students, teachers and other staff; officials had not established a detailed account of how the explosion occurred. Israel Police said its initial suspicion was that unexploded ordnance caused the blast.