Man survives lightning strike up north

A 45-year-old man is lightly injured after his umbrella was struck by lightning in northern Israel, the Ynet news website reports.

A doctor at the Ziv Medical Center in Safed says the patient was hospitalized with a minor burn on his hand, and is being monitored to ensure that his heart was not affected by the lightning strike.

“He was very lucky,” Dr. Hussein Amar says. He explains that the umbrella handle was likely made of wood or plastic, rather than metal.

In a separate incident, a couple is safely retrieved from their car, which had been swept into the overflowing Hilazon river in the Galilee.

The rescue team successfully pulled the couple out of the water, Ynet reports. When they arrived at the scene, the vehicle was nearly entirely submerged, the rescue workers say.

The man and woman — who is in the advanced stages of pregnancy — emerged without any injuries.