A bullet hit the grenade of an injured IDF officer — But didn't explode

• Published date: 30 September 2021
• Author: ANNA AHRONHEIM

The grenade, made by Israel Military Industries (IMI), was struck by at least one of the bullets but did not explode.

The father of the officer was quoted by Walla as saying that it was "a miracle" and that he was optimistic as the condition of the officer continued to improve over the past three days.

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The M26 IM-HE hand grenades developed and patented by IMI are an upgraded version of the M26 fragmentation grenade that was designed with enhanced safety features including a unique fuse and safety clip.

The grenade, which has peripheral protection on the fuse housing and needs two-movement factors to remove the safety pin, only ignites once the safety pin is removed.

The grenade has been dubbed "Eliraz" in honor of Eliraz Peretz, an IDF major who was killed in August 2010 when the grenade he was carrying exploded after it was hit by an enemy bullet.

The grenade is combat-proven after being used extensively by the IDF in Operation Protective Edge, the 2014 war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

"This is a miracle. Nine bullets struck him and he's still alive. One of the bullets hit a grenade he was carrying and it broke into two pieces and didn't explode," his father said.

The officer, Capt. D and his soldier Sgt. Y., were seriously injured during a firefight in the West Bank village of Burqin when they engaged armed Palestinian terrorists. The IDF's preliminary investigation is looking into the circumstances surrounding their injuries but is leaning towards...