IDF probe finds ‘serious errors’ amid heatwave led to death of soldier during drill

The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday published the findings of a probe into the death of a soldier who collapsed during a training exercise amid a heat wave earlier this month, saying that there were “serious errors” in the way the drill was carried out.

Cpl. Hillel Nehemiah Ofan, 20, of the elite Yahalom combat engineering unit, died amid a crawling exercise in the pre-dawn hours of August 14 in a forest close to the central city of Elad, in a training ground that is part of the Mitkan Adam base.

The cause of Ofan’s death was still under investigation, though first responders indicated the soldier was apparently suffering from heatstroke or dehydration. There had been a heat wave in the days leading up to the exercise.

Temperatures in the area had remained elevated even during the night, with official meteorological data showing that soldiers would have been operating in 29°C (84°F) heat, with humidity near 80 percent.

One of Ofan’s commanders spotted the soldier lying on the ground at around 5 a.m. and began to provide him preliminary treatment while calling paramedics.

The IDF’s probe was unable to determine how long had passed from the moment Ofan lost consciousness to his being found by the officer.

The military said it was unaware of any underlying conditions the soldier may have suffered from.

Another six soldiers had been taken for medical evaluation amid the exercise due to exhaustion, though the army said that “the medical indicators of those soldiers were found to be normal and they returned to continue training.”

The IDF generally avoids outdoor training during extreme heat.

According to the military, there had been a halt of exercises due to the heat wave until 10 p.m. on August 13. After temperatures fell at around midnight, Combat Engineering Corps officers conducted a new assessment and allowed the outdoor training to be held.

The IDF said the probe revealed “serious errors” in the way the drill was carried out by commanders and their implementation of orders, “in the aspects of rest times, supervision, and control of the training.

“As a result of the investigation, immediate lessons were drawn regarding the command and control of training, ensuring compliance with safety procedures and managing situational assessments in regards to the weather,” the IDF said.

Last week, following the deadly incident, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi held a meeting with senior officers on training procedures.

The military said Halevi ordered them to “take strict precautions in procedures concerning the approval of training…. in accordance with weather conditions and situational assessments.”

A Military Police probe has been opened into the incident. “At the end of the investigation, the findings will be forwarded to the Military Prosecutor’s Office for evaluation,” the IDF said.

Additionally, the commander of the IDF’s Ground Forces, Maj. Gen. Tamir Yadai, ordered the establishment of a panel of experts to investigate the circumstances of the incident, appointing Col. Elad Efrati, the commander of the 679th “Yiftah” Armoured Reserve Brigade, to lead the probe.

Ofan, from the West Bank settlement of Karmei Tzur, was posthumously promoted from the rank of private to corporal.