An Israeli was found dead with signs of hypothermia, and two children sustained minor injuries from a falling tree on Thursday, the second day of winter storm Byron.
Emergency teams were also called to flooding incidents in the Judean Foothills (the Shfela), the Magen David Adom medical response group said.
MDA says its first responders were deployed to several sites where cars became trapped in rising waters and were working alongside rescue teams, with medics on standby amid fears of further casualties.
בהמשך להצפות בגזרת יבנה:
— מגן דוד אדום (@mda_israel) December 11, 2025
צוותי מד"א שנמצאים ביבנה מסייעים בפעולות החילוץ של אזרחים שנתקעו עם רכבם בהצפות באמצעות רכב היונימוג הייחודי
צילום: דוברות מד"א pic.twitter.com/uQ3zf5Gmrm
Temperatures dropped below 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit) across the central region overnight, as driving rain swept the nation.
Early on Thursday, a 53-year-old man was found dead with signs of hypothermia in a Netanya apartment, the ZAKA search-and-rescue organization group said. Medics were called to the scene after a neighbor found the body, according to ZAKA. His body was taken to the Health Ministry’s National Institute of Forensic Medicine at Abu Kabir in Tel Aviv.
Later in the day, MDA reported that its paramedics responded to a tree that fell in the courtyard of a school in Rishon Letzion, a city eight miles south of Tel Aviv. Two girls aged around 10 years old sustained minor head injuries and were evacuated to a hospital, MDA stated.
Byron made landfall in Israel on Wednesday after pummeling Greece, bringing unusually heavy precipitation expected to last through Friday.
The heavy rain spread south overnight, bringing 35 to 40 millimeters (1.4 to 1.6 inches) of precipitation to Tel Aviv and some 15 millimeters (0.6 inches) to Ashdod. Jerusalem received 10.8 millimeters (0.4 inches) of rain, Safed 15.3 millimeters (0.6 inches) and Beersheva 3.6 millimeters (0.1 inches).
Israel’s Health Ministry issued guidelines on Wednesday, urging hospitals and other medical facilities to prepare for severe weather brought by Byron. The ministry emphasized the need to maintain continuous medical services while ensuring that facilities remain operational.
