11 injured after jackal attacks at Sea of Galilee beach, rabies shots given

Eleven hikers, including three minors, were injured over the weekend in a jackal attack at Doga Beach on the Sea of Galilee and were taken to Poriah Hospital, where they were treated and released. Authorities said the animals likely smelled food in the tents, entered the camping area, and scratched and bit campers in the panic that followed.

Anna Lundin, who was bitten on the leg while sleeping in a tent with her daughter and husband, described being attacked around 2 a.m. She said she felt a burning pain, saw a jackal cut through the tent netting and bite her leg, and then watched it jump to another tent. “I saw that I had a bite on my leg and I was bleeding. I screamed,” she said, adding that the animal bit a friend five times in both legs and then attacked more people in nearby tents. “It was terrifying,” she said. “I didn’t know what to do.”

Lundin said a 12-year-old girl was also bitten in the face. “I was with her in the ambulance, she cried a little and her face swelled up,” she said. The injured were treated in the ambulance and at the Poriah emergency room, received rabies vaccinations, and will need three more shots.

Yossi Nava, chairman of the Kinneret Cities Association, said the incident was serious and demanded urgent action from the Nature and Parks Authority and the veterinary services to reduce the jackal population and deploy night inspectors throughout the summer. In a joint statement, the Health Ministry and the Nature and Parks Authority warned that the animal involved is suspected of having rabies and has not yet been captured. They said 10 exposed people received preventive rabies treatment and urged the public to avoid contact with wild animals and report any exposure immediately.