Foreign diplomats express sorrow over Israel’s 10 young flood victims

Ambassadors from across the globe flock to Twitter to empathize with Israel’s grief after teenagers die in Judean Desert flash floods

By Raphael Ahren 27 April 2018, 2:30 pm
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Raphael Ahren is a former diplomatic correspondent at The Times of Israel.

Rescue forces near the scene where 10 young Israelis were swept to their deaths in flash floods in the Tzafit riverbed, near the Dead Sea in southern Israel, on April 26, 2018. (Maor Kinsbursky/Flash90)
Rescue forces near the scene where 10 young Israelis were swept to their deaths in flash floods in the Tzafit riverbed, near the Dead Sea in southern Israel, on April 26, 2018. (Maor Kinsbursky/Flash90)

Foreign diplomats from across the globe on Friday took to Twitter to express condolences over the deaths of 10 Israeli teenagers, who died Thursday in a flash flood in the Tzafit River in the Judean Desert.

“Rain in Israel is a blessing. But this week that blessing took a tragic turn,” US Ambassador David Friedman wrote.

“Americans are heartbroken by the loss of life resulting from this week’s flash floods,” he said. “We send our condolences to the families of all the victims and pray for all those who are in mourning.”

On Thursday night, the head of the European Union’s mission to Israel, Emanuele Giaufret, said he was following the “terrible news coming from the desert,” and that his thoughts were with those youth who were still missing at the time. “My thoughts are with the hikers hit by the flood. I hope they will all soon be able to get back to their families and friends.”

On Friday morning, after it had emerged that 10 of the 25 students who participated in the hike, organized by the Bnei Zion pre-military academy had died, he sent another tweet:

The ambassadors of several other European states also posted condolence notices on the social network.

Two senior diplomats from Canada — the ambassador and her deputy — also took to Twitter to express their sorrow over the youths’ deaths.

The Russian Embassy tweeted its condolences in two languages:

The pre-military academy’s hike went ahead, despite warnings of life-threatening weather conditions. Nine girls and one boy were killed when the group was hit by flash floods in the Tzafit riverbed in the southern Dead Sea area.

Nine of the teenagers’ bodies were found in the course of the afternoon and evening on Thursday, and the 10th was discovered early on Friday morning.

A composite photo of the 10 victims of a flash flood in southern Israel on April 27, 2018. Top row, left to right: Romi Cohen, Ilan Bar Shalom, Shani Shamir, Adi Raanan, Agam Levy. Bottom row, left to right: Yael Sadan, Maayan Barhum, Tzur Alfi, Gali Balali, Ella Or. (Courtesy/Facebook)

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