Jericho
JerichoSebi Berens/Flash 90

On Wednesday afternoon, 7 soldiers were lightly and moderately injured when a military vehicle hit an anti-tank mine in the Qasr al-Yahud area, south of Jericho.

Rescue forces summoned to the scene treated the injured and evacuated them to the hospital. The circumstances of the incident are being investigated.

The IDF Spokesperson stated that the incident concerned "an IDF force on a routine mission to repair a fence around a minefield in the Jordan Valley. During activity, a military vehicle hit a mine which exploded and, as a result, a number of soldiers were lightly injured. The soldiers were evacuated to the hospital for medical treatment. The incident will be investigated.”

The accident is the second in the past day in which soldiers were injured.

On Tuesday evening, two IDF soldiers were killed and ten others were injured in a traffic accident on Highway 6 east of Netanya.

The accident occurred on the Nizanei Oz Interchange on Highway 6, east of Netanya and just west of the Palestinian Authority-controlled city of Tulkarem.

The names of the two soldiers who were killed, both Golani fighters, are Sergeant Bar Yakubian, 19, from Netiv Hashayara, and Sergeant Eshto Tespo, 21, from Petah Tikva.

According to initial reports, the accident occurred when a truck collided with several private cars that were parked on the shoulder of southbound Highway 6 near the interchange with Route 57.

The commander of the IDF’s Northern Command, Major General Yoel Strick, decided to establish a team of experts headed by Colonel Yair Natans, commander of the "Kidon" unit, to investigate the circumstances of the incident. The Israel Police and the Military Police also launched an investigation.