Ashdod beaches closed after shark spotted

A shark was spotted on Friday off the coast of Ashdod in southern Israel.

Local reports said a whale shark, roughly 5 meters long (16 feet), was spotted at Yud Alef Beach.

The municipality closed all beaches in the city and prohibited swimming, with lifeguards stationed to monitor the situation.

In April, a man was killed in a shark attack off Hadera.

Shark attacks are extremely rare in Israel. In 2013, a shark trapped in a fish cage bit people who tried to remove it. The only other recorded incident dates back to the British Mandate period, when a police officer was attacked off the coast of Tel Aviv.