Nine injured in rare jackal attack at Sea of Galilee beach amid rabies fears

Nine vacationers were injured overnight Saturday after jackals attacked and bit them near Duga Beach on the Sea of Galilee. The first report reached Magen David Adom’s 101 hotline at 2:52 a.m., and emergency teams treated the victims at the scene and evacuated four of them to the North Medical Center in Poriya with mild bite wounds, including a 12-year-old girl, two men in their 30s, and a woman about 40.

Three more injured people were also taken from the site in mild condition, while two others were treated on the spot and did not need hospital care. Officials said such aggressive behavior by a wild animal is not natural and strongly suggests the jackals involved may have been infected with rabies.

The incident comes as Israel is seeing a worrying rise in confirmed rabies cases. So far this year, 66 rabies-related exposure and animal disease cases have been recorded in 66 separate incidents. Jackals account for a major share of the wildlife cases, ranking second only to dogs, which lead with 37 cases.

Of the total reported incidents, 19 were identified in jackals. Other cases included four in cattle, two each in badgers and foxes, and isolated cases in a sheep, a cat, and a rabbit. Health authorities are urging people in the north and holidaymakers to stay alert, avoid leaving food scraps that attract wild animals to beaches and campsites, and never approach animals that seem unusually fearless or aggressive. Rabies is fatal and incurable once symptoms appear, so anyone bitten, scratched, or otherwise exposed to a suspicious animal should immediately wash the wound thoroughly with soap and running water and seek urgent care at an emergency room or local health office for preventive treatment.