Thai worker killed, another injured in explosion in northern Israel
Death caused by explosion of leftover ammunition in closed military zone
One Thai worker was killed, while another suffered a severe concussion following an anti-tank missile strike in Yir’on, an agricultural estate in northern Israel on Friday, the Royal Thai Embassy in Tel Aviv said in a Facebook post.
“Following an anti-tank missile strike on farmland in Upper Galilee, [rescue workers] reported the death of a 27-year-old Thai foreign worker,” the Israeli emergency services provider, Magen David Adom, said in a post on X on Friday.
The estate is on the border with Lebanon, which has been declared a closed military zone by the Israeli government due to the ongoing Israel–Hezbollah conflict, said the embassy.
So far Israel has announced 11 closed military zones – Metula, Misgav Am, Kfar Giladi, Dovev, Tziv’on, Malkia, Rosh Hanikra, Shlomi, Hanita, Adamit, and Arab al-Aramshe.
The embassy advised Thai nationals residing in or close to those areas to contact the embassy so it can coordinate for their evacuation to safety.
Nikorndej Balankura, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that an investigation by Israeli officials revealed that the victim was killed by an explosion of leftover ammunition in the area, and not directly by the strike on Friday.
The ministry is waiting for the autopsy result before notifying the family of the deceased, he said, adding that the injured worker is now being treated at Safed Hospital. The ministry and the embassy are monitoring their condition closely.
Some 10 Thai nationals residing in the agricultural estate have been evacuated out of the area, he said.
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and Foreign Affairs Minister Maris Sangiampongsa on Friday expressed their condolences on X to the family of the Thai worker killed by an ammunition explosion.
