Suspected Israel shark attack highlights risk of entering waters when marine animals present

The Associated Press

· Posted: Apr 22, 2025 6:02 PM EDT | Last Updated: 43 minutes ago

Israeli constabulary scoured the Mediterranean seashore for a swimmer they fearfulness whitethorn person been attacked by a shark, successful an country that has agelong seen close encounters betwixt marine predators and beachgoers who sometimes question them out.

A shiver of endangered dusky and sandbar sharks has been swimming adjacent to the country for years, attracting onlookers who attack the sharks and drafting pleas from conservation groups for authorities to abstracted radical from the chaotic animal.

Nature groups accidental those warnings went unheeded. Police and rescue workers launched a hunt on the seashore aft reports that a shark attacked a swimmer connected a formation adjacent the metropolis of Hadera. Israel's Fire and Rescue Authority announced Tuesday day that it had recovered remains of a body, which was brought to the forensic institute for identification.

The formation was closed disconnected connected Tuesday arsenic hunt teams utilized boats and underwater instrumentality to look for the man. The man's individuality was not instantly known, but Israeli media said helium had gone to aquatics with the sharks.

Israelis flocked successful ample numbers to the formation during a weeklong holiday, sharing the waters with a twelve oregon much sharks. Some tugged connected the sharks' fins, portion others threw them food to eat.

Dusky sharks tin turn to four metres long and measurement astir 350 kilograms. Sandbar sharks are smaller, increasing to astir 2.5 metres and 100 kilograms.

Yigael Ben-Ari, caput of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority's marine ranger force, said it was not known however the antheral behaved astir the sharks. But helium said the nationalist should know not to participate the h2o erstwhile sharks are contiguous and not to interaction oregon play with them. 

Witnesses study seeing sharks successful area

One video shared by Israeli media showed a shark swimming close up to bathers successful thigh-deep water.

"What a immense shark!" the antheral filming exclaims, arsenic the shark approaches him. "Whoa! He's coming toward us!"

"Don't move!" helium implores a lad lasting nearby, who replies, "I'm leaving."

The antheral past asks, "What, are you acrophobic of the sharks?"

The behaviour, immoderate of which was witnessed by an Associated Press lensman 2 days earlier the attack, flew successful the look of the proposal of the parks authority.

"Like each chaotic animal, the sharks' behaviour whitethorn beryllium unpredictable," the authorization said successful a statement.

This would beryllium conscionable the 3rd recorded shark onslaught successful Israel, according to Ben-Ari. One idiosyncratic was killed successful an onslaught successful the 1940s.

The area, wherever lukewarm h2o released by a adjacent powerfulness works flows into the sea, has for years attracted dozens of sharks betwixt the months of October and May. Ben-Ari said swimming is prohibited successful the area, but swimmers participate the h2o anyway.

WATCH | A caller mode to discourage shark attacks:

"It would person been due to instrumentality steps to sphere and modulate nationalist safety, but implicit the years chaos has developed successful the area," the Society for the Protection of Nature successful Israel, an biology group, said successful a statement.

It said fishermen, boats, divers, surfers and snorkellers intersected dangerously with a chaotic carnal that "is not accustomed to being astir crowds of people."

The group said further steps were needed to forestall akin incidents, specified as designating a harmless portion from wherever radical could presumption the sharks without swimming adjacent to them.

Israeli authorities connected Monday closed the formation and others nearby, and they remained closed connected Tuesday.