Search resumes for missing Israeli diver after suspected shark attack

By Rania Abu Shamala

ISTANBUL (AA) - Search efforts resumed Tuesday for an Israeli man who went missing following a suspected shark attack off the coast of Hadera in northern Israel, authorities said.

The diver was reportedly attacked by a shark on Monday, prompting beachgoers to call for emergency aid after witnessing the distressing scene.

According to The Times of Israel outlet, several people on the beach captured video footage of the incident.

In one video, a man can be heard shouting: “Wow, wow, he’s with the shark, he’s fighting him... They’re eating him, eating the man… Can’t see him.”

One woman who called emergency services told dispatchers: “There’s someone here that a shark has bitten. He’s screaming, ‘Help!’ He’s in the sea at Hadera. He’s drowning... Nobody’s coming to save him.”

Despite overnight pauses, Israeli police, along with the Nature and Parks Authority, Fire and Rescue Service, the army, medical personnel, and volunteers resumed the search early Tuesday morning for the missing swimmer.

“It would be just the third recorded shark attack in Israel,” said Yigael Ben-Ari, head of the Parks and Nature Authority’s marine ranger unit.

Despite repeated warnings by environmental groups and officials, swimmers and divers have often ventured into this zone, with some even reportedly touching or feeding the sharks.

The shores of Hadera, particularly near the Orot Rabin power station, have for years been known as a spot where sharks frequently appear, especially during the winter and spring seasons.