Swimmer missing after Israel shark attack

Videos show victim thrashing around in the sea as shark circles in rare Mediterranean incident

A swimmer was attacked by a shark at a beach in the Israeli city of Hadera on Monday, with the victim reported missing after the incident and authorities mounting a search.

Israeli police told The National they had closed the beach until further notice following the unusual shark encounter in the Mediterranean.

Videos posted on social media showed the diver in the sea thrashing around as the shark circled, with the water turning red. Other clips showed helicopters scanning the sea for the missing man.

"Following a report of a bather being attacked by a shark at the Hadera River beach, the police are announcing the closure of the beach to bathers until further notice," an Israeli police representative said.

Israeli media reported that the attack was the first of its kind in Israel. Shark attacks in the Mediterranean are rare, with most occurring in the US and Australia, according to the International Shark Attack File, which is maintained by the Florida Museum of Natural History.

A shark swims past people in the sea off Hadera. AP

"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," a witness told Israeli media.

The attack took place in a part of the beach where swimming is prohibited, authorities said. Dusky and sandbar sharks are reported to inhabit the area between November and May, but they are not known to attack people.

The last shark attack in the Mediterranean took place in 2023 when a man was bitten at the popular Spanish tourist spot of Oliva in Valencia. He survived.

In the Red Sea, a holidaymaker was killed last December in a shark attack off the Egyptian tourist town of Marsa Alam.

A finless shark was found dead on the beach in Hadera in January, Israeli media reported.