Tragedy at Sea: Body Recovered Near Herzliya After 10-Day Search for Missing Yeshiva Student
After 10 days of agonizing searches, a body has been recovered near Herzliya. Emergency forces and ZAKA teams are working to confirm if the remains belong to 17-year-old yeshiva student Avraham Yeshayahu Spiegel, who went missing after a double drowning tragedy that claimed the life of his brother.
A 10-day non-stop search operation took a somber turn Sunday afternoon as a body was spotted floating in the Mediterranean Sea near the Sidna Ali beach in Herzliya. Emergency forces were rushed to the scene to retrieve the remains, which have since been transferred to the National Center of Forensic Medicine for formal identification.
The Discovery
The body was identified by a civilian at a significant distance from Netanya, where the initial disappearance occurred. Magen David Adom (MDA) paramedic Idan Sheina reported: "When we arrived at the beach, we were led to a male who had been pulled from the water unconscious. We performed medical checks, but he had no pulse and was not breathing. Unfortunately, there were no signs of life, and we had to pronounce him dead at the scene."
Yehiel Goldman, ZAKA Tel Aviv operations commander, confirmed that ZAKA teams joined forensics experts at the site. The recovery was coordinated by Eran Kozhi, commander of ZAKA's special units, who has overseen the intensive search efforts in Netanya for the past 10 days.
Background: A Family’s Double Loss
The search began nine days ago on Friday, following a tragic drowning incident at the Sanz beach in Netanya. Two brothers, students at the Mir Yeshiva, were swept away:
Last Wednesday, thousands gathered for the heartbreaking funeral of the older brother, Issachar Dov. During the eulogy, their father, Rabbi Shlomo Spiegel, a prominent figure at the Mir Yeshiva, cried out in anguish over the "returned deposit" and prayed for the recovery of his second son.
While formal forensic identification is still pending, the location and timing of the discovery align with the ongoing efforts to find the younger Spiegel brother.