Shocking footage captured the moment an off-duty IDF reservist was injured after attempting to take down a Palestinian flag before setting off a booby-trapped bomb in the West Bank.
The man, reportedly 25 years old and named Israel Levy, was caught on camera trying to remove the flag near the Kochav Hashahar settlement in the West Bank.
Footage shared on
As he stomps over a log and staggers up the small hill, he can be seen approaching the green, white, red and black flag, unaware of the apparent booby trap at its base.
The man proceeds to kick the pole hard, and within seconds, an explosion is triggered, sending him flying backwards as an orange glow emits from the spot.
An IDF reservist can be seen attacking a Palestinian flag erected near the Kochav Hashahar settlement in the West Bank.
When the man, supposedly 25 years old and named Israel Levy, goes to take down the flag, he appears to activate a booby trap.
The off-duty soldier disappears into the thick cloud of smoke and apparently suffered only minor injuries.
A woman filmed the scenes from the passenger seat of a car while other people inside the vehicle can be heard gasping and screaming.
A thick cloud of smoke envelops the man and he disappears from sight as debris is thrown across the field by the force of the explosion.
It appears that a woman filmed the scene from the passenger seat of a car, but remains inside the vehicle throughout the video while filming the smoking pile in the middle of the field.
Other passengers inside the vehicle can be heard gasping and screaming as there appeared to be no sign of the man after he was thrown to the ground.
After a few moments, the man cannot be seen fleeing the explosion in the footage, but according to local reports, Rescuers Without Borders emergency services said he was treated at the scene for minor injuries and refused to be taken to hospital. .
The man was initially reported to be an Israeli resident of Binyamin, but the IDF later confirmed that the Israeli was an IDF reserve soldier who was on vacation.
The IDF is reportedly investigating the incident and stated that troops were searching the area for suspects, according to The Jerusalem Post.
The West Bank has continued to see increased violence during the seven-month war in the Gaza Strip, with Palestinians and Israelis continuing to clash across occupied settlements.
On Sunday, the IDF revealed that its troops killed two Palestinians who the army said attacked a checkpoint with a knife and a gun near the southern West Bank city of Hebron.
The attackers, who were not immediately identified, had pulled a knife on troops near the Beit Einun crossing around 7 a.m., and the second suspect shot at the soldiers.
The two teenage suspects, confirmed to be 18 and 19 years old, were killed in retaliatory fire, but no IDF soldiers were injured following the attack, according to the Israeli military.
The fierce shooting took place just hours after another bloody incident in the West Bank, in which a woman attempted to stab an IDF soldier at a checkpoint on the northern side.
Some Palestinians return to their homes after Israeli forces withdrew from the Nuseirat refugee camp in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, April 21, 2024.
Smoke rises following Israeli strikes, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, April 21, 2024.
Palestinian medics gather at the site of an Israeli attack in the central Gaza Strip on April 22, 2024.
The suspect died after an IDF soldier opened fire, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.
It comes after the IDF began extensive raids on Thursday in the Nur Shams Palestinian refugee camp along the West Bank.
The Palestinian Red Crescent rescue service said it had recovered 14 bodies from the Israeli attack, including three militants from the Islamic Jihad group and a 15-year-old boy.
The army said it killed 14 militants in the camp and arrested eight suspects. Ten Israeli soldiers and a border police officer were injured.
Earlier this month, a Palestinian gunman also shot and wounded a female IDF soldier in the West Bank near Nabi Ilyas, and Hamas later claimed responsibility for the attack.
At least 469 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers in the West Bank since the start of the war in Gaza on October 7, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Most have died during Israeli military raids, which often spark gunfights, or in violent protests.
The bloody war in Gaza was sparked by an unprecedented raid into southern Israel in which Hamas and other militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped about 250 hostages.
Israel says militants are still holding around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others.
Thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets to call for new elections to replace Netanyahu and an agreement with Hamas to free the hostages.
Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until Hamas is destroyed and all hostages are returned.
The war has killed at least 34,097 Palestinians and injured another 76,980, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
The ministry does not differentiate between combatants and civilians in its count.
He says the actual number of victims is likely higher, as many bodies are trapped under rubble or in areas that doctors cannot reach.
Israel blames Hamas for civilian casualties because the militants fight in dense residential neighborhoods.
The military rarely comments on individual attacks, which often kill women and children.
The army says it has killed more than 13,000 Hamas fighters, without providing evidence.