A man was attacked by a shark on the beach at the Nachal Hadera Park near the power station in the city on Monday afternoon. MDA received reports on Monday about a diver who entered the water and disappeared. A video circulating on social media shows a man in the water screaming for help and a shark fin peeking out from the waves. Rescue forces tried to find him but were unsuccessful. The search for the victim in the water ceased at nightfall but search teams will continue to search the coast. In a report received by MDA, a witness described: “There’s someone here who was bitten by a shark. He’s screaming ‘Help’ in the sea at Hadera Park. He’s drowning. He’s in the water. No one is coming to save him. It’s all blood there, the sharks are eating him. It’s deep, I think he’s a diver. There are several sharks on him.” Shlomo, who was on the beach, also witnessed the attack. He described that “I went to the beach with friends. We were about to go in and suddenly we saw a man thrashing in the water – we saw him fighting a shark and trying to escape from it. The shark attacked him. It was hard to see. It was chilling, really scary. We really saw how the shark attacked him. I don’t understand how they don’t close a beach with sharks. It could easily be me. All of us are traumatized.” Witnesses told Ynet: “It’s no wonder the sharks attacked. There are fishermen here all the time. The hooks of the fishing rods hit the sharks and cause them to bleed. That’s why they attacked.” Following the incident, all beaches from Hadera to Netanya were closed. It should be noted that the attack took place in a part of the beach where swimming was banned. Professionals in the field of shark and large marine life research told Yisrael Hayom, “It was absolutely clear that something like this would happen in Israel. It was discussed just yesterday among researchers. Despite all the warnings and explanations that these animals must not be disturbed, many Israelis swam toward the sharks, petted them, and even swam around them holding fish. This behavior creates a classic situation for unhealthy contact with these predators, even with shark species that do not see humans as prey or seek contact with them. We must remember these are animals with significant attacking capabilities. That’s why we continue to warn the public not to approach sharks in the Hadera area.” According to the report, sharks are attracted to Hadera’s coastline due to warm water discharged from the Israel Electric Corporation’s power station. The plant uses seawater to cool its turbines, and the heated water is released back into the sea, attracting the sharks. The Nature and Parks Authority recently warned that “the shark gathering site in Hadera is not managed and is not regulated and poses a great risk to both sharks and humans.” The authority called for limiting human activity in the area and delineating a shark observation area from the shore. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)