Swimmer missing after rare shark attack off Israeli coast

A man is missing following an extremely rare shark attack off the northern Israeli coast near Hadera, approximately 40km north of Tel Aviv.

The attack occurred on April 22 in waters near Olga Beach, with bystanders capturing the incident on video, some audibly shouting in horror as the swimmer struggled offshore, Caliber.Az reports citing foreign media.

Authorities have closed the beach as a search operation continues for the missing swimmer. In footage shared on social media, the man can be seen flailing several hundred feet from shore, with eyewitnesses reporting visible blood in the water.

“I was in the sea when it happened – I saw blood, and there were screams,” one witness, Eliya Motai, told Israeli news outlet Ynet. “It was terrifying. Just yesterday, we saw sharks circling nearby.”

The area is known for the seasonal presence of dusky and sandbar sharks, which are drawn to the warm water discharged from the nearby Orot Rabin power station – Israel’s largest – as well as fish swept in from a local stream.

Despite the regular shark activity in the area, such attacks are exceptionally rare. According to Ynet, this is only the fourth documented shark attack in Israeli waters, and the first potentially fatal incident since the country’s founding in 1948.

Police have urged the public to avoid the area until further notice.

By Aghakazim Guliyev