Death Toll of Israel's Rough Weather Over the Weekend Rises to Four
Two men lost their lives as their cars were swept away by swollen streams in northern Israel
The count of Israelis who died due to extreme weather over the weekend has risen to four, as two men were found dead after their cars were swept away by swollen streams in northern Israel.
A 72-year-old man, Eran Hernstadt, died on Sunday after his car was caught in a flood in the northern Israeli city of Binyamina. Police say that according to their initial investigation, he was on his way home when his car was swept away by the Timsah stream.
Police and fire-fighting forces also found the body of a man from Arara, in the Wadi Ara region in northern Israel. Ali Mansour Agrabiya, 47, whose car was also swept away by a swollen stream, died near the town of Zichron Yaakov. Rescue teams had been searching for him since Sunday afternoon. The search continued for some time after dark, with special lighting, then resumed on Monday morning.
Earlier on Saturday, 25-year-old Israelis Stav Harari and Dean Shoshani died in a flooded elevator in a residential building in south Tel Aviv, where they had moved as partners.
The two were trapped when the elevator locked automatically in the building's flooded parking garage, apparently due to an electrical shortage.
The man died at the scene and the woman was taken to Ichilov hospital in Tel Aviv in critical condition, suffering from severe hypothermia, where her death was declared.
Thousands of Israelis attended the couple's funeral on Sunday. The parents have complained for alleged delays in the intervention by rescue services.