Following heavy rainfall during Storm Byron, coastal cliffs collapsed along the municipal boundary between the Hefer Valley and Netanya, the Hefer Valley Regional Council said on Monday.
No injuries were reported, but local officials warned of an ongoing national safety risk and accused the state of failing to allocate funding for coastal protection.
According to the council, large sandstone formations suddenly slid from a significant height onto the beach, which was empty at the time of the collapse.
Council inspectors arrived at the scene and ruled out the possibility of people being trapped.
Officials stressed that coastal cliff collapses are an increasingly common phenomenon across Israel, including in the Hefer Valley area, and have claimed lives in the past.
'Condition of Israel's coastal cliffs is deteriorating'
The council said it has repeatedly appealed, together with other coastal authorities, to the Interior Ministry and the Finance Ministry, urging them to urgently fund the continuation of cliff reinforcement works in the Hefer Valley. It also called for steps to prevent safety hazards and for coastal cliff protection to be recognized as a national project.
“We warn time and again about the danger of coastal cliff collapses, and this time it happened in our area after serious incidents in neighboring authorities,” Hefer Valley Regional Council Head Galit Shaul said. “The condition of Israel’s coastal cliffs is deteriorating, and this is a national issue that requires an urgent solution.”
Shaul added that despite commitments, no funding was allocated in the new state budget to reinforce the cliffs or prevent collapses, either for the government company responsible for coastal cliff protection or for local authorities to advance the work.
“The warning signs are on the wall. Fortunately, this time there was no disaster, but if this urgent issue is not budgeted and properly addressed, the next disasters are only a matter of time,” she said.