Another night of heavy rain swept southern Israel and the western Negev, as Storm Byron neared its end but continued to cause flooding and rescue operations. In Moshav Beit Shikama near Ashkelon, residents were trapped in their homes and seven people were evacuated to hospital suffering from cold-related injuries. In east Jerusalem, a man died of hypothermia. Search efforts continued Friday morning for a 19-year-old from Bnei Brak reported missing near the Yarkon River. The weather forecast for the weekend appears at the end of the article.
Unusual footage: cars ‘submerged’ in Ashkelon’s Agamim neighborhood
(Video: Israel Fire and Rescue Services)
Overnight, rescue teams from the Fire and Rescue Service’s Ashkelon station, together with the Lahava rescue unit, assisted by police and the Israel Defense Forces, carried out operations at three main sites following heavy rain and flooding. Six teams operated in Ashkelon, 15 in Beit Shikama, and six in Kiryat Gat and the community of Nehora. In total, teams responded to at least 58 flood and rescue incidents during the night.
Footage from Ashkelon’s Agamim neighborhood showed dozens of cars submerged on a main street, with residents heard reacting in disbelief. Videos from Ashkelon and Kiryat Gat, along with rainfall radar images, documented the scale of the flooding.
In Beit Shikma, Magen David Adom teams set up a treatment point and cared for residents suffering from cold-related injuries. Seven people were evacuated to hospital, six in mild condition and a man around 60 in moderate condition with signs of hypothermia. Fire and rescue crews also worked to extract residents trapped in flooded homes.
MDA paramedic Issachar Weiss said calls were received about residents trapped and in distress due to severe flooding. He said it quickly became clear the situation was widespread rather than isolated. A treatment point was established, residents arrived gradually with mild cold injuries, and several were rescued from their homes using four-wheel-drive vehicles and a Unimog intensive care vehicle. Some did not require evacuation, while six mildly injured people and one man in moderate condition were transported to hospital.
On Friday morning, MDA received a report of two children who were swept along a water channel in Beit Shemesh. The children, ages 5 and 6, were treated on site and were listed in mild condition, suffering from light cold injuries. MDA medic Shmuel Arieli said the children were found with soaked clothing beside the channel after being rescued by a passerby. The ambulance heating was turned on, thermal blankets were provided and medical checks were conducted. Hospital evacuation was not required.
Between midnight and 6 a.m., the highest rainfall was recorded in Moshav Mashen near Ashkelon, with 38 millimeters. Kiryat Gat recorded 31 millimeters and Ashdod 23. Meteorological Service Director Amir Givati warned the rain had not yet ended in those areas and was expected to continue until midday. Beit Shemesh recorded 22 millimeters overnight and Jerusalem six. Smaller amounts fell in the Tel Aviv area and northern Israel.
An MDA ambulance during flooding in Beit Shekama
Extensive searches along the Yarkon
Police said Thursday night they were conducting extensive searches for missing teenager Eliyahu Abba Shaul, 19, from Bnei Brak, who left his home earlier in the evening and has not been seen since. Searches are focused along the Yarkon River near Rokach Street in Ramat Gan, after his shoes were found on the riverbank. His bicycle was located nearby overnight.
Dan District Commander Elad Klein held an on-site assessment, and police appealed to the public for assistance, asking anyone with information on Shaul’s whereabouts to contact the emergency hotline.
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Missing teenager Eliyahu Abba Shaul as searches continue
(Photo: Israel Police, Zaka)
On Friday morning, MDA reported that a man around 50 was found unconscious in Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood with signs of hypothermia. He was found lying in a puddle and pronounced dead at the scene. MDA medics Eliyahu Sheffer and Amir Lubarboum said they pulled the man from the water immediately, but he showed no signs of life.
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The puddle in Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood where the man was found dead
(Photo: MDA)
Storm Byron also reached Mount Hermon overnight, with two centimeters of snow accumulating at the upper level. Temperatures there dropped below freezing, and the site remained open to visitors free of charge. Hermon site CEO Rafael Naveh said the upper level was lightly covered in snow and additional systems were expected to bring colder weather and more significant precipitation.
Rain easing by midday
Rain is expected to continue Friday, at least until midday, though Storm Byron is nearing its end. Local rain is forecast in central Israel and the northern Negev, with thunderstorms possible until noon and continued risk of localized flooding, especially along the southern coastal plain, as well as flash floods in the Judean Desert and Dead Sea streams. Rain is expected to weaken after midday.
Temperatures will remain slightly below seasonal averages, particularly in mountainous and inland areas. Overnight, skies will be partly to mostly cloudy, with possible drizzle or light rain in the north and center. On Saturday, light rain or drizzle may continue in those areas, alongside a slight rise in temperatures returning to seasonal norms.
The week is expected to begin dry, but rain is forecast to return Monday with a slight drop in temperatures. Local rainfall accompanied by isolated thunderstorms is expected from the north to the Negev, intensifying in the afternoon, with a minor risk of flooding in eastern streams.