Attack helicopter accidentally drops munitions in southern Israel due to technical fault

An attack helicopter involved in operations over Gaza accidentally released a munition in the western Negev on May 20 due to a technical malfunction, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

The explosive landed in an open area near the border fence and caused no injuries, Caliber.Az reports per Israeli media.

The IDF has launched an investigation into the incident. A similar malfunction occurred approximately two weeks ago in northern Israel, when a munition was deliberately dropped in an open area between Kfar Baruch and HaYogev near the Ramat David Airbase to allow a fighter jet to land safely.

Another incident took place in April near Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak in the Gaza border region, where a fighter jet accidentally released a bomb weighing several hundred kilograms due to a technical issue. No casualties were reported, but the impact created a large crater just metres from the community.

Footage from the scene showed a gaping hole several metres wide near the kibbutz.

Zamir Chaimi, a farmer from Nir Yitzhak, said at the time: “The bomb fell around 8 pm in the kibbutz’s fields, roughly a kilometre from the residential area. A major disaster was averted – this could have ended in tragedy.”

“There was a fire, a huge explosion that blended in with the other war noises around us, but we quickly realised this was something unusual,” Chaimi added. “Once the news broke, we understood that an Air Force bomb had fallen just metres from the kibbutz.

We expect the army to draw the appropriate conclusions and learn from this, because it could have ended very badly.”

By Aghakazim Guliyev