Two teenage girls swept away in Jordan River found dead after five-hour search

The Incident and Search

The emergency began at approximately 17:05 on Saturday, when Magen David Adom (MDA) received reports of a girl drowning in the Jordan River. It soon became clear that two teenagers had been swept away in a section of the river near Lehavot HaBashan. According to reports, the girls were part of a group of friends who alerted security forces after losing contact with the pair in the water.

A joint command post was established involving the Israel Police, Israel Fire and Rescue Services, MDA, and the Golan Search and Rescue volunteer unit. The operation included divers from the elite 'Lehava' unit and extensive bank-side searches. After roughly three hours, the body of the first girl, 13-year-old Hala Azzam, was located. Despite medical efforts, she was pronounced dead at the scene.

Recovery and Identification

The search for the second missing teenager continued for two additional hours under the command of Northern District Fire Commissioner Yair Elkayam and Deputy Kinneret District Commander Eyal Kehati. At approximately 22:15, the body of the second girl, 15-year-old Iman Kheir, was recovered by Golan Search and Rescue volunteers.

MDA Paramedic Eli Ben Zaken, who attended the scene, described the recovery: "Firefighting forces rescued a girl who was unconscious, without a pulse, and not breathing. We performed medical checks, but unfortunately, we had no choice but to pronounce her dead."

Local Impact

The tragedy has deeply affected the community of Abu Snan. Fawzi Mishleb, the head of the Abu Snan local council, expressed the village's grief, stating that what was intended to be a trip had turned into a "very difficult tragedy." Authorities are expected to investigate the specific circumstances of the drowning, including the water conditions and the nature of the group's activity at the river at the time of the incident.