An IDF soldier died during a training exercise overnight between Sunday and Monday in the midst of the current heatwave.
The soldier, later identified as Hillel Nehamia Ufan, 20 from Karmei Tzur, was on a training path in the center of the country near the Adam training facility for being an engineering combat soldier in Yahalom, was three to four hours into the middle of a nighttime drill.
Due to the intense heatwave, the drill for the soldiers had been delayed and they had been able to relax most of the daylight hours.
However, IDF regulations allowed reviewing the heat situation as of 10:00 p.m. Sunday night and by midnight early Monday morning, the Lieutenant Colonel on the scene approved restarting drills.
At the point when the soldier died, he and the other soldiers were performing a crawling through open fields drill.
A woman carrying an umbrella to protect her from the sun crosses a street in Tel Aviv. August 9, 2023. (credit: MIRIAM ALSTER/FLASH90)His direct commander noticed that he was either not moving or had departed from the designated crawling area by some dozens of meters and went to check into his situation.
When the soldier did not seem to respond normally, his commander tried to give him initial first aid and called for a paramedic, who tried to save the soldier’s life.
Shortly thereafter, Magen David Adom and Unit 669 personnel, including a doctor, arrived at the scene and attempted further medical activities, but eventually had to declare the soldier deceased.
Cause of the soldier’s death is unknown
As of Monday afternoon, the IDF still did not know what caused the soldier’s death, saying there were no underlying medical conditions.
Further, despite the heat wave, the IDF said that when the drill went forward at midnight, the temperature had dropped to within an acceptable range.
There were other soldiers who complained about the heat and who received extra water or were given a break during the training, but not in any volume which the IDF would identify as unusual.
All infantry training has been suspended until 5:00 a.m. Wednesday, pending further probes of the soldier’s death and assessing the heat wave.
The IDF said it joined in the sorrow of the family.
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