Latest news with #ParksandNatureAuthority
The Independent
23-04-2025
- The Independent
Man attacked by shark off Israeli coast after bathers seen playing with animal
Israeli police have been searching the waters off the country's Mediterranean coast for a swimmer who they fear may have been attacked by a shark. In recent years, the area has seen close encounters between a shiever of endangered dusky and sandbar sharks that have been swimming close to the area and beachgoers who sometimes seek them out. Many conservation groups have also urged authorities to separate people from the sharks. Nature groups say those warnings went unheeded as police were forced to launch a search after receiving reports that a swimmer was attacked by a shark on a beach near the Israeli city of Hadera on Monday. A day later, the beach near Hadera was closed off as search teams searched the sea by boat and underwater equipment for the swimmer. The man's identity is unknown, but Israeli media said he had gone to swim with the sharks. Israelis flocked in large numbers to the beach during a weeklong holiday, sharing the waters with a dozen or more sharks. Some tugged on the sharks' fins, while others threw them fish to eat. Ben-Ari said it was unknown how the man believed to have been attacked behaved around the sharks, but the public had a responsibility to recognize that it shouldn't enter the waters and definitely should not touch or play with the sharks. One video shared by Israeli media showed a shark swimming right up to bathers in thigh-deep water. 'What a huge shark!' the man filming exclaims, as the shark approaches him. 'Whoa! He's coming toward us!' 'Don't move!' he implores a boy standing nearby, who replies 'I'm leaving.' The man then asks, 'what, are you afraid of the sharks?' The behavior, some of which was witnessed by an Associated Press photographer two days before the attack, flew in the face of the Parks and Nature Authority's advice not to approach the sharks. 'Like every wild animal, the sharks' behavior may be unpredictable,' the authority said in a statement. This would be just the third recorded shark attack in Israel, according to Yigael Ben-Ari, head of the Israel's Parks and Nature Authority's marine ranger force. One person was killed in an attack in the 1940s. The area, where warm water released by a nearby power plant flows into the sea, has for years attracted dozens of sharks between the months of October and May. Ben-Ari said swimming is prohibited in the area, but swimmers enter the water anyway. 'It would have been appropriate to take steps to preserve and regulate public safety, but over the years chaos has developed in the area,' the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, an environmental group, said in a statement. It said fishermen, boats, divers, surfers and snorkelers intersected dangerously with a wild animal that 'is not accustomed to being around crowds of people.' SPNI said further steps were needed to prevent similar incidents, like designating a safe zone from where people could view the sharks without swimming close to them. Israeli authorities on Monday closed the beach and others nearby.
Miami Herald
22-04-2025
- Miami Herald
Police Search for Feared Shark Victim
Israeli police searched the waters off its Mediterranean coast amid fears that a swimmer may have been attacked by a shark, according to local media reports. Newsweek has reached out to the Israeli police and Israel's Parks and Nature Authority' for comment. Police in Israel's Coastal District resumed search efforts Tuesday for a swimmer who disappeared after a suspected attack-by one or more sharks- near Hadera's Orot Rabin Power Plant the previous day, Israeli media reported. The search has drawn a large-scale response, with multiple agencies-including military, emergency, and volunteer teams-joining the effort. Graphic footage of the alleged attack allegedly filmed by people on the beach emerged on social media. In one video showing the possible victim in the distance near a shark, one man was heard saying: "Wow, wow, he's with the shark, he's fighting him. They're eating him, eating the man... Can't see him," The Times of Israel reported, adding that the Hadera Stream Beach has been closed. Despite a longstanding ban on swimming in the area-where warm water from a nearby power plant attracts dozens of sharks between October and May-beachgoers continue to enter the sea, prompting police to close multiple beaches between Hadera and Netanya's Poleg Beach. While the exact species involved in the recent shark attack near Hadera has not been officially confirmed, dusky sharks are commonly found in the area, experts say. Yigael Ben-Ari, head of Israel's marine ranger force, said it's unclear how the missing swimmer interacted with the sharks but stressed the public should avoid entering the water or approaching the animals, whose behavior can be unpredictable, according to The Associated Press. Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, as quoted by The Associated Press: "It would have been appropriate to take steps to preserve and regulate public safety, but over the years chaos has developed in the area." Extreme Simulations representative Daniel told Maariv, as quoted by The Jerusalem Post: "I entered the water as soon as we got to the beach, six minutes after the call. The beach was crowded, and I immediately put on my clothes and entered a place where I know there are no sharks. I am a diving instructor, and I knew where it was safe, but they asked me to go out." Authorities are investigating the shark attack and considering stricter safety measures, while environmental groups push for designated observation zones to prevent future incidents, according to the media. Related Articles Man Stunned at What 'Small White Object' Found in Bag of Gravel Really IsHorror as Diver Realizes Sharks Circling, and 'More Coming From the Deep'Shark Repellent May Make Beaches Safe as US Revealed as Attack HotspotMystery As Baby Shark Born With No Male Involvement 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Yahoo
Shark filmed swimming among children before ‘deadly' attack
Credit: Social media A shark was filmed swimming among terrified small children on an Israeli beach before attacking a diver who is missing and feared dead. In what could be the first fatal shark attack in the country's history, graphic footage showed the sea turning blood red around a man as he shouted, 'I'm bitten, I'm bitten'. The attack happened on Monday, just after the fish was filmed swimming in shallow water between a group of young children who appeared frozen in terror. The beach at Hadera, north of Tel Aviv, remained shut on Tuesday as the search for the missing man, who has not been identified, continued into its second day. It came as police said they had sent 'findings' for forensic analysis as part of their search. The incident is only the third recorded shark attack in Israel. One person was killed in the 1940s, but before the country was founded in 1948. The stretch of coastline has, however, been well known for close encounters between sharks and beachgoers, who sometimes seek them out. A shiver of endangered dusky and sandbar sharks has been swimming close to the area for years, believed to be attracted by the warm water released by a nearby power plant. Conservation groups have agitated for years for authorities to keep them away from humans, to no avail. One video shared by Israeli media showed a shark swimming right up to bathers in thigh-deep water. 'What a huge shark!' the man filming exclaims, as the shark approaches him. 'Whoa! He's coming toward us!' 'Don't move!' he implores a boy standing nearby, who replies: 'I'm leaving.' The man then asks: 'What, are you afraid of the sharks?' Footage of the attack, which took place further out to sea, showed a tail of what appeared to be a shark thrashing out of the water, before it turned red. Israeli media reported that the victim had gone to swim with the sharks. An eyewitness told Channel 12: 'I saw the diver in the depths of the water, he shouted: 'I'm bitten, I'm bitten', and waved his hands in the air. After a few minutes, sharks bit him, and suddenly he disappeared.' Separate footage from the beach shows people tugging at the sharks' fins, while others throw fish for them to eat. Dusky sharks can stretch 4 meters (13 feet) long and weigh about 350 kilograms (750 pounds). Sandbar sharks are smaller, growing to about 2.5 meters (8 feet) and 100 kilograms (220 pounds). Yigael Ben-Ari, head of the Israel's Parks and Nature Authority's marine ranger force, said it was unknown how the man believed to have been attacked behaved around the sharks, but he said the public had a responsibility to recognise that they should not enter the waters and definitely should not touch or play with the sharks. 'Like every wild animal, the sharks' behaviour may be unpredictable,' the authority said in a statement. 'It would have been appropriate to take steps to preserve and regulate public safety, but over the years, chaos has developed in the area,' the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, an environmental group, said in a statement. Mr Ben-Ari said the beach was closed to swimmers, but the instruction was ignored. It said fishermen, boats, divers, surfers and snorkellers intersected dangerously with a wild animal that 'is not accustomed to being around crowds of people'. Israel can ill afford any suggestion that its beaches are unsafe, as it is already coping with a huge drop in tourist numbers due to the security situation since October 2023. Visitor numbers dropped by more than 68 per cent last year compared to the year before, according to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics. On Tuesday, a police spokesman said: We are on the second day of the search, both in the sea and on the shore, we are sparing no means,' says police spokesman Aryeh Doron. He added: 'At this point, I am able to say that there were several findings that were sent for [forensic] examination, and we will await the professional results. 'We want to end this day by bringing relief to the family. Until there is a final answer for them, we will continue our efforts.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
The Independent
22-04-2025
- The Independent
Swimmer disappears off Iraseli coast following rare ‘shark attack'
Israeli police have been searching the waters off the country's Mediterranean coast for a swimmer who they fear may have been attacked by a shark. In recent years, the area has seen close encounters between a shiever of endangered dusky and sandbar sharks that have been swimming close to the area and beachgoers who sometimes seek them out. Many conservation groups have also urged authorities to separate people from the sharks. Nature groups say those warnings went unheeded as police were forced to launch a search after receiving reports that a swimmer was attacked by a shark on a beach near the Israeli city of Hadera on Monday. A day later, the beach near Hadera was closed off as search teams searched the sea by boat and underwater equipment for the swimmer. The man's identity is unknown, but Israeli media said he had gone to swim with the sharks. Israelis flocked in large numbers to the beach during a weeklong holiday, sharing the waters with a dozen or more sharks. Some tugged on the sharks' fins, while others threw them fish to eat. Ben-Ari said it was unknown how the man believed to have been attacked behaved around the sharks, but the public had a responsibility to recognize that it shouldn't enter the waters and definitely should not touch or play with the sharks. One video shared by Israeli media showed a shark swimming right up to bathers in thigh-deep water. 'What a huge shark!' the man filming exclaims, as the shark approaches him. 'Whoa! He's coming toward us!' 'Don't move!' he implores a boy standing nearby, who replies 'I'm leaving.' The man then asks, 'what, are you afraid of the sharks?' The behavior, some of which was witnessed by an Associated Press photographer two days before the attack, flew in the face of the Parks and Nature Authority's advice not to approach the sharks. 'Like every wild animal, the sharks' behavior may be unpredictable,' the authority said in a statement. This would be just the third recorded shark attack in Israel, according to Yigael Ben-Ari, head of the Israel's Parks and Nature Authority's marine ranger force. One person was killed in an attack in the 1940s. The area, where warm water released by a nearby power plant flows into the sea, has for years attracted dozens of sharks between the months of October and May. Ben-Ari said swimming is prohibited in the area, but swimmers enter the water anyway. 'It would have been appropriate to take steps to preserve and regulate public safety, but over the years chaos has developed in the area,' the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, an environmental group, said in a statement. It said fishermen, boats, divers, surfers and snorkelers intersected dangerously with a wild animal that 'is not accustomed to being around crowds of people.' SPNI said further steps were needed to prevent similar incidents, like designating a safe zone from where people could view the sharks without swimming close to them. Israeli authorities on Monday closed the beach and others nearby.
Telegraph
22-04-2025
- Telegraph
Shark filmed swimming among children before ‘deadly' attack
A shark was filmed swimming among terrified small children on an Israeli beach before attacking a diver who is missing and feared dead. In what could be the first fatal shark attack in the country's history, graphic footage showed the sea turning blood red around a man as he shouted, 'I'm bitten, I'm bitten'. The attack happened on Monday, just after the fish was filmed swimming in shallow water between a group of young children who appeared frozen in terror. The beach at Hadera, north of Tel Aviv, remained shut on Tuesday as the search for the missing man, who has not been identified, continued into its second day. It came as police said they had sent 'findings' for forensic analysis as part of their search. The incident is only the third recorded shark attack in Israel. One person was killed in the 1940s, but before the country was founded in 1948. The stretch of coastline has, however, been well known for close encounters between sharks and beachgoers, who sometimes seek them out. A shiver of endangered dusky and sandbar sharks has been swimming close to the area for years, believed to be attracted by the warm water released by a nearby power plant. Conservation groups have agitated for years for authorities to keep them away from humans, to no avail. One video shared by Israeli media showed a shark swimming right up to bathers in thigh-deep water. 'What a huge shark!' the man filming exclaims, as the shark approaches him. 'Whoa! He's coming toward us!' 'Don't move!' he implores a boy standing nearby, who replies: 'I'm leaving.' The man then asks: 'What, are you afraid of the sharks?' Footage of the attack, which took place further out to sea, showed a tail of what appeared to be a shark thrashing out of the water, before it turned red. Israeli media reported that the victim had gone to swim with the sharks. An eyewitness told Channel 12: 'I saw the diver in the depths of the water, he shouted: 'I'm bitten, I'm bitten', and waved his hands in the air. After a few minutes, sharks bit him, and suddenly he disappeared.' Separate footage from the beach shows people tugging at the sharks' fins, while others throw fish for them to eat. Dusky sharks can stretch 4 meters (13 feet) long and weigh about 350 kilograms (750 pounds). Sandbar sharks are smaller, growing to about 2.5 meters (8 feet) and 100 kilograms (220 pounds). Yigael Ben-Ari, head of the Israel's Parks and Nature Authority's marine ranger force, said it was unknown how the man believed to have been attacked behaved around the sharks, but he said the public had a responsibility to recognise that they should not enter the waters and definitely should not touch or play with the sharks. 'Like every wild animal, the sharks' behaviour may be unpredictable,' the authority said in a statement. 'It would have been appropriate to take steps to preserve and regulate public safety, but over the years, chaos has developed in the area,' the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, an environmental group, said in a statement. 'Not accustomed to being around crowds' Mr Ben-Ari said the beach was closed to swimmers, but the instruction was ignored. It said fishermen, boats, divers, surfers and snorkellers intersected dangerously with a wild animal that 'is not accustomed to being around crowds of people'. Israel can ill afford any suggestion that its beaches are unsafe, as it is already coping with a huge drop in tourist numbers due to the security situation since October 2023. Visitor numbers dropped by more than 68 per cent last year compared to the year before, according to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics. On Tuesday, a police spokesman said: We are on the second day of the search, both in the sea and on the shore, we are sparing no means,' says police spokesman Aryeh Doron. He added: 'At this point, I am able to say that there were several findings that were sent for [forensic] examination, and we will await the professional results. 'We want to end this day by bringing relief to the family. Until there is a final answer for them, we will continue our efforts.'
