Shocking footage has captured the moment an off-duty IDF reservist was injured after trying to kick down a Palestinian flag before detonating a booby trap bomb in the West Bank.
The man, reportedly 25 years old and named Israel Levy, was caught on camera trying to remove the flag near the West Bank settlement of Kochav Hashahar.
Footage shared on X, formerly Twitter, shows the man charging through an overgrown field as he marches towards a lone Palestinian flag erected in the middle of the grassland.
As he stomps over a log and stumbles up the small hill, you see him approaching the green, white, red and black flag, oblivious to the apparent booby trap at its base.
The man kicks the pole with force and within seconds an explosion is caused, sending him flying backwards as an orange glow emanates from the location.
An IDF reservist is seen in footage charging at a Palestinian flag erected near the West Bank settlement of Kochav Hashahar.
As the man, reportedly 25 years old and named Israel Levy, goes to take down the flag, he appears to set off a booby trap
The off-duty soldier disappears into the thick cloud of smoke and reportedly suffered only minor injuries
A woman filmed the scenes from the passenger seat of a car as others in the vehicle gasped and screamed
A thick cloud of smoke envelops the man, who disappears from view as debris is thrown across the field by the force of the blast.
A woman appears to have filmed the scene from the passenger seat of a car, but she remains in the vehicle throughout the video as she films the smoking pile in the middle of the field.
Other passengers in the vehicle can be heard gasping and screaming as there appeared to be no sign of the man after he was thrown to the ground.
After a few moments, the man in the footage is no longer seen fleeing the explosion, but according to local reports, Rescuers Without Borders emergency services said he was treated at the scene for minor injuries and refused to be taken to hospital.
The man was initially reported to be an Israeli resident of Binyamin, but the IDF later confirmed that the Israeli was an IDF soldier in reserve who was on vacation.
The IDF is reportedly investigating the incident and stated that troops were searching the area for suspects The Jerusalem Post.
The West Bank has witnessed an increase in violence during the seven-month war in the Gaza Strip, with Palestinians and Israelis continuing to clash along occupied settlements.
On Sunday, the IDF announced that its forces had killed two Palestinians who the army said attacked a checkpoint with a knife and a gun near the southern West Bank city of Hebron.
The attackers, who were not immediately identified, pulled a knife on troops near the Beit Einun junction around 7 a.m., with the second suspect firing at the soldiers.
Both teenage suspects, confirmed to be 18 and 19 years old, were killed in retaliatory shootings, but no IDF soldiers were injured after the attack, according to the Israeli military.
The fierce gunfight came just hours after another bloody incident in the West Bank, in which a woman tried to stab an IDF soldier at a checkpoint on the northern side.
Some Palestinians return to their homes after Israeli forces withdraw from the Nuseirat refugee camp in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, on April 21, 2024
Smoke rises after Israeli attacks, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, April 21, 2024
Palestinian medics gather at the site of an Israeli attack in the central Gaza Strip on April 22, 2024
The female suspect was killed after the IDF soldier opened fire, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.
It comes after the IDF began extensive raids on the Palestinian refugee camp Nur Shams along the West Bank on Thursday.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Rescue Service said it had recovered 14 bodies in the Israeli attack, including three militants from the Islamic Jihad group and a 15-year-old boy.
The army said it had killed 14 militants in the camp and arrested eight suspects. Ten Israeli soldiers and a border police officer were injured.
Earlier this month, a female IDF soldier was also shot and wounded by Palestinian gunmen in the West Bank near Nabi Ilyas, with Hamas later claiming responsibility for the attack.
At least 469 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers in the West Bank since the Gaza war began on October 7, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Most have been killed during Israeli military attacks, which often lead to gun battles, or during violent protests.
The bloody war in Gaza was sparked by an unprecedented attack on southern Israel, in which Hamas and other militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped about 250 hostages.
Israel says militants are still holding about 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others.
Thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets to call for new elections to replace Netanyahu and an agreement with Hamas to release the hostages.
Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until Hamas is destroyed and all hostages are returned.
At least 34,097 Palestinians have been killed and another 76,980 injured in the war, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
The ministry makes no distinction between combatants and civilians during the count.
It said the actual toll is likely higher because many bodies are trapped under rubble or in areas where doctors cannot reach.
Israel blames Hamas for the civilian casualties because the militants fight in densely populated residential areas.
The military rarely comments on individual attacks, which often kill women and children.
The military says it has killed more than 13,000 Hamas fighters, without providing evidence.