Israeli reporter faints during live broadcast from Dubai

An Israeli reporter fainted on-air Sunday in Dubai, where he was dispatched following the UAE’s striking of a normalization deal with the Jewish state.

With temperatures tapping out at 97° F, Channel 13’s Doron Herman appeared to have suffered from heat exhaustion.

The network’s presenter Hila Korach sought to cut to Herman during a segment of the nightly broadcast, when the Dubai-dispatched correspondent was not responding. As she speculated with another reporter on screen how the long distance may have been impacting reception, Herman slowly lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground.

Channel 12 on Monday interviewed Herman’s mother, who said she panicked upon viewing the segment, and thought her son had been “stabbed.”

Doron Herman @D0ronhe, #Israel ???????? reporter for channel 13 @newsisrael13, collapsed live on air, possibly from "extreme heat & dehydration" while reporting from #Dubai, #UAE ???????? pic.twitter.com/d9h6E8e5UG

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— Saad Abedine (@SaadAbedine) August 16, 2020

When she received the video on WhatsApp, “I went to throw up,” she said.

Herman later published a video on his Facebook page, downplaying what had happened and assuring those worried — including his mother — that he was doing fine, before going on to claim that temperatures in the UAE were over 50° Celsius (122 F°).

Later, on the nightly news, Herman explained that “the heat is unbearable… I’ve learned my lesson. Today, I’ve been drinking all day.”

Several Israeli networks have sent reporters to the UAE following last week’s normalization deal announcement. But since the deal has not yet been finalized, those journalists appear to be given entry thanks to other foreign passports that they carry.