The Israel Fire and Rescue Service published footage of divers from the Lahava unit preparing to enter the water, according to an official spokesperson. The visual material was distributed by the service's spokesperson, with the context of the dive not specified in the release.
The Israel Fire and Rescue Service released footage Saturday evening of divers from the Lahava unit preparing to enter the water, as the underwater search for two missing girls in the Jordan River nears the two-hour mark. The material, credited to photographer Yehuda Richter / Israel Fire and Rescue Service, shows readiness activity for an underwater operation. The release did not specify the context of the dive, but the timing and imagery align with the ongoing rescue effort near Lehavot HaBashan, as reported by The Zioneer since the first alert at 17:51 Jerusalem. This is the first official visual acknowledgment of the divers' deployment, supplementing earlier operational updates from police and media channels.
At 17:51 Jerusalem, The Zioneer reported that police launched extensive searches for two teenage girls swept away in the Jordan River near Lahavot HaBashan, with multiple units, a helicopter, rescue volunteers, and fire services involved (version 1). Minutes later, the scope of the operation escalated: by version 4, five fire and rescue crews were scanning the river; version 3 confirmed a helicopter had joined. Versions 9 through 11 documented the Lahava unit's divers preparing for and then beginning underwater searches. The newly released footage, distributed by the Fire and Rescue Service, visually confirms the divers' readiness stage, as described in version 10. Source quality evolved from initial police and media reports to an official briefing by Kiryat Shmona station deputy commander Chief Inspector Elad Ben Lulu (version 7), and now to direct visual material from the Fire and Rescue Service.
As The Zioneer reported on Saturday at 17:51 Jerusalem, the search area is the Jordan River near Lehavot HaBashan. Friends of the missing girls alerted authorities after they were swept away by the current. The Lahava unit, a specialized rescue unit, has been conducting both surface and underwater searches.
It remains unclear whether the dive depicted in the footage is part of the ongoing search operation, a training exercise, or a separate rescue drill. The Fire and Rescue Service release provided no context beyond the dive preparation. No new information on the girls' condition or the outcome of the underwater searches has been disclosed.
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