IDF officer crushed to death by falling container at base in south

An Israel Defense Forces officer was killed Thursday morning after being crushed by a falling container in an apparent work accident at an army base in southern Israel.

In a statement, the IDF confirmed that the female officer was declared dead at the scene and a male soldier was lightly hurt “by a heavy object” at the Tzeelim training facility in the Negev desert.

The military did not immediately permit publication of the incident until the officer’s family had been notified.

She was later named as Lt. Lidar Peretz, 21, from the central city of Or Yehuda.

Peretz, who served as a logistics officer in the 7th Armored Brigade, was posthumously promoted to the rank of captain.

The soldier who was lightly hurt was taken to Soroka Hospital in Beersheba.

Details surrounding the circumstances of the apparent accident were not immediately clear, including what led the container to fall and crush the officer.

The IDF said the incident was under investigation by the Military Police, which would present its findings to the Military Prosecution for evaluation.

Additionally, the IDF said the head of the Logistics Directorate, Maj. Gen. Mishel Yanko, and the head of the Northern Command, Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin, appointed a senior logistics officer, Col. Moshe Artzi, to lead a panel of experts to investigate the incident.