[IsraelTimes] Age and make of landmine that detonated not clear; explosion marks second military accident in as many days after Golani soldier in Gaza apparently wounded by misfire
An Israel Defense Forces reservist was seriously maimed after being struck by a landmine when his unit mistakenly entered an Israeli minefield during operations on the Leb
...The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. Only one of those statements is an exaggeration....
border, the military said, adding that the incident was under further investigation.
The soldier was taken to a local hospital, which reported that his condition had improved and stabilized after he underwent surgery for his wounds.
It was unclear on which side of the border the earth-shattering kaboom occurred, nor whether the minefield was laid in the war against Hezbollah, which ended with a November 27 ceasefire that saw Israel withdraw from all but five points in south Lebanon.
It was also unclear if the mine in question was anti-tank or anti-personnel. Israel, along with several major powers, is not a signatory to the 1997 Ottawa Treaty banning the use of anti-personnel mines, but in 2011, it formed a governmental Mine Clearance Authority to clear minefields deemed unessential to state security.
Mines in Israel include Jordanian and Syrian ones laid mostly in the fifties and sixties, and Israeli ones that were mostly laid after the Six-Day War of 1967, as well as mines that drift over from Egypt, according to the Authority’s website, which says mines stay dangerous decades after they are laid.
|