Search Underway for Father and Six Children Missing in Negev Heat

A father and his six children went missing after hiking in the Nahal Gov area of the Negev Desert on Monday. The family, aged between 9 and 19, left the city of Ovot at 8:00 a.m. equipped with water, hats, and hiking shoes. Around 9:30 a.m., they sent a message to the mother indicating they had started the trail. Two hours later, at 11:30 a.m., they reported feeling exhausted due to the intense heat but hoped to finish the hike within half an hour. Since that last message, all contact has been lost.

Following the communication cutoff, the mother alerted the Arava Rescue Unit, which immediately dispatched teams from Hatzavah and Idan to search the Nahal Gov area. The search teams plan to split into two groups to cover the upper and lower parts of the canyon in an effort to locate the family quickly. Rescue officials confirmed that the search is ongoing and promised to provide further updates as the situation develops.