Diver killed by sharks was a dad of 4 who tried to use GoPro stick to beat back predators

New York Post

24-04-2025

The diver killed by sharks off the coast of Israel has been identified as a father of four who used a GoPro camera stick to try and fend off the predators, according to his grieving family.
Barak Tzach, 40, jumped in the water to film the sharks at the beach in Hadera when a chilling video showed him flailing in the water, yelling for help, as he was attacked and dragged out to sea.
When the sharks started getting too close, he used the stick of the GoPro to 'push them away,' his family told Israel National News.
The grieving relatives denied rumors that the dad had been trying to feed the sharks — as others were filmed doing at the same beach the previous week — and did not have any bait when he went in the ocean with only a mask, snorkel, fins and the tiny action camera.
'He went into the water to dive and photograph sharks, not to feed them or play with them,' Tzach's family said.
3 Barak Tzack was killed by sharks he was trying to photograph off Israel on Monday.
obtained by the NYPost
3 The sharks have been an attraction for tourists enjoying Hadera's coastline.
AFP via Getty Images
3 People look at sharks as a rescue team are searching for evidence after a diver was attacked by sharks in the water of Hadera
Getty Images
A fisherman who witnessed the terrifying attack told the family that Tzach 'swam alongside the shark and later moved a little further out. He photographed the sharks from a distance, but did not touch them or feed them.'
Tzach, of Petach Tikva near Tel Aviv, was heard screaming, 'They're biting me!' before being dragged further out to sea on Monday, according to The Times of Israel.
'They're eating him, eating the man!' one terrified witness cried, according to disturbing video circulating on social media.
Human remains were later discovered nearly 24 hours later on Tuesday after officials shut down the beach and launched a massive search in the area with divers, jetskis and helicopters.
The remains were later identified as Tzach.
Police said in an update that 'the search will continue to locate additional findings and we express our sincere condolences to the family who was informed of the results. We will accompany them throughout the complex process,' Israel National News reported.
The exact breed of shark was not immediately known, however, marine life experts believe they were likely dusky or sandbar ones, which are typically harmless to humans and have been known to swim off Hadera's shores for years.
Dusky sharks can reach up to 13 feet long and weigh 750 pounds, whereas sandbar sharks are smaller, growing to about 8 feet and 220 pounds.
Yigael Ben-Ari, head of marine rangers at the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, said this would be just the third shark attack recorded in Israel in the last 80 years.