A diver is missing and feared dead after being mauled by a shark in Israel.
Footage posted on social media shows a diver flailing in the water off the coast of Hadera on Monday.
Other footage showed beach-goers, including children, standing in the water and marvelling at sharks as they swam around their legs just moments before the diver was attacked.
Horror video of the incident then showed the diver further out at sea thrashing around during the bloody attack as the water quickly turned red.
An eyewitness told Channel 12 News: ‘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.’
Shark attacks in the Mediterranean are extremely rare, with 50 recorded since 1900, and only 11 fatal.
The Hadera Municipality Coastal Department said it was ‘conducting searches by jet ski to locate the diver and will continue to update as developments occur.
‘We urge the public traveling in the area to avoid entering the water and contact with the sharks,’ it added.
A shark was seen swimming close to the shore at Olga Beach, Israel, before a diver was mauled
Footage captured the diver thrashing around in the water as the shark attacked them
Children were seen standing in the water as sharks swam around their legs
A call was received by Magen David Adom’s 101 dispatch center in the Sharon region at around 3:02pm to an incident at Olga Beach.
Police and rescue workers have been deployed to the scene, with the police saying in a statement that no casualties had yet been located.
Israel Police said: ‘A short time ago, officers from the Hadera Police Station and the Maritime Police were dispatched to the Hadera stream following reports from citizens who claimed they saw a shark attacking a diver in the water.
‘Forces are en route, but no casualties have been located so far.’
Footage uploaded to social media has also shown helicopters scanning the waters for the missing diver.
Following the incident, the police have closed the beach to swimmers until further notice.
The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel has reacted to the shark attack by saying it called on the state four years ago to regulate behaviour in waters sharks visit.
It said: ‘Every winter, a unique phenomenon occurs in Israel in which sharks and rays gather at the outlet of the warm waters of the power stations.
‘In the case of such a fascinating and public-attracting phenomenon, it would be appropriate to take conservation and safety measures for the public, but over the years, chaos has developed in the area.’
‘I started recording and saw they were sharks. They got within 164 to 328ft of the shoreline, which caused panic among swimmers.
‘Still, some tried to approach them despite the lifeguard’s clear orders to get out of the water. The sharks moved from south to north, did a sort of “dance”, and eventually disappeared.’
Footage uploaded to social media has also shown helicopters scanning the waters for the missing diver
The Hadera Municipality Coastal Department said it was ‘conducting searches by jet ski to locate the diver and will continue to update as developments occur
It comes after a tourist was killed in a shark attack at a popular Red Sea holiday resort in Egypt in December.
The injured man was taken to hospital in Port Ghalib, around 30 miles north of Marsa Alam, the Egyptian ministry said at the time.
The ministry said the attack occurred in deep water outside the designated swimming zone near the jetties in northern Marsa Alam, adding that swimming out from the jetties was prohibited and the jetties would be closed for two days.
An EU official was also mauled to death by a shark at a luxury Egyptian resort last year.
Gianluca Di Gioia, 48, from Rome, had been snorkeling at a beach located in front of the glamorous Red Sea Sataya Resort on the coast of Marsa Alam, before the attack.
The tourist, who worked at the European External Action Service, the diplomatic service of the European Union, was in the sea alongside his friend Giuseppe Fappani, 69, as they celebrated Di Gioia’s birthday.
But the trip took a horrific turn when the pair were approached by a tiger shark in the Egyptian waters, while they swam just 50metres from the beach in an area where the resort’s jetty allows tourists to access beyond the coral reef.
In 2023, a Russian man was heard screaming ‘papa’ as he was mauled to death by a shark in the Egyptian resort of Hurghada.
Tourists watched in horror from the shore as the beast wounded the man before dragging him under the water. His distraught girlfriend managed to escape.
The tourist – believed to be 23 – was on a long stay in Egypt. He was named in Russia by Baza news outlet as Vladimir Popov, and had moved to the resort with his father.
His father watched the fatal attack in horror, which was also filmed from the shore.
