Israel Health Ministry Report Identifies Akhziv Beach as Most Polluted Coastline

The Israeli Ministry of Health released its 2025 Sea Water Quality Report, analyzing bacterial contamination across 158 designated beaches nationwide, including the Sea of Galilee, Mediterranean Sea, and Red Sea. The report found that over 96% of water samples met bacterial standards during the bathing season, indicating generally high water quality.

However, the highest contamination rate was recorded at the Quiet Beach in Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee, where 12.1% of samples exceeded the acceptable limit for fecal coliform bacteria, the highest rate among all tested beaches. In the Mediterranean, Akhziv Park Beach showed the most violations, with 11.5% of samples surpassing the maximum allowed level of enterococci bacteria, although the overall Mediterranean contamination rate was a low 1.3%, the best in a decade.

The Red Sea beaches near Eilat demonstrated exemplary water quality, with zero bacterial contamination detected throughout the year. Routine sampling was conducted weekly at Mediterranean and Sea of Galilee beaches and biweekly at Red Sea sites from April 5 to October 21, 2025. The monitoring program identified 38 bathing warnings during the year, 15 of which occurred in the bathing season, mainly due to stormwater runoff, sewage infrastructure failures, or unknown sources.

The Dead Sea was excluded from routine sampling due to its high salinity. The Ministry’s extensive monitoring effort aims to ensure public health safety and maintain beach water quality standards across Israel’s popular recreational waters.