11 injured after jackal attacks at Sea of Galilee campsite

Eleven hikers, including three minors, were injured over the weekend at Duga Beach on the Sea of Galilee after a jackal attack and were taken to Poriya Hospital. The animals apparently smelled food in the tents, entered the camping area, and scratched and bit the vacationers. All of the injured were treated and later discharged.

Anna Lundin, who was bitten on the leg while sleeping in a tent with her daughter and husband, told Niv Raskin on Channel 12’s morning show about the panic. “At two in the morning I felt something burning my leg. I looked and saw a jackal that had cut through the tent net and bitten me,” she said. “I saw I had blood coming out. I screamed. He jumped to my friend, bit him five times in both legs. There were screams from all directions and hysteria.”

Lundin said a 12-year-old girl was also bitten in the face. She said the girl cried on the ambulance ride, her face swelled, and staff at Poriya treated the wounds and gave rabies shots. Lundin said each person received three injections that hurt, and they will need three more vaccinations. She added that she later met people the jackal had bitten hours afterward, including a girl from another beach.

Yossi Naveh, chairman of the Kinneret Cities Association, said the incident was being treated “with concern and severity” and called on the Nature and Parks Authority and the veterinary services to urgently reduce the local jackal population and deploy inspectors at night throughout the summer. In a joint statement, the Health Ministry and the Nature and Parks Authority said ten exposed people received preventive rabies treatment, the suspected animal has not yet been caught, and the case is under investigation. The ministry warned that rabies is “dangerous and fatal” and urged anyone exposed to wild animals to report immediately and avoid contact with wildlife.