TERRIFYING footage has emerged of a shark circling young kids moments before a savage attack, thought to have killed a swimmer.
The last known words of the victim have also been revealed by witnesses to Monday’s mauling in the Med.
A swimmer was savaged off Olga Beach near Hadera, northwest Israel, in front of horrified crowds, and has not been seen since.
Harrowing footage showed the diver thrashing about as the water around him foamed red with blood.
Now, a haunting clip has emerged of a shark circling around paddling children – even touching their legs – just moments before the attack.
Two youngsters can be seen standing knee deep in the waves as an adult films them.
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A shark – about two metres long – glides menacingly past the girl.
It then U-turns and swims right between the pair, brushing past them, before heading back out to sea.
It was reportedly the same shark that launched a frenzied attack on a swimmer in deeper water just moments later.
People watched in horror from the beach as fins and limbs splashed around but could do nothing to stop the savaging.
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An eyewitness revealed that the victim screamed “help” and “they’re biting me” while waving his hands in the air.
She reported that he was then dragged further out to sea.
Eliya Motai, who saw the attack, told Ynet: “I was in the water, I saw blood and there were screams.”
Another, Shlomo, said: “We were just walking down to the water when we saw someone flailing in the sea — fighting a shark and trying to get away.
“The shark lunged at him. It was hard to watch. It was chilling. We literally saw the shark attack him.
“I don’t understand how the beach wasn’t closed. It could’ve been me. All of us are traumatised.”
A third told the site: “It’s no wonder they attacked. There are fishermen here all the time and their hooks injure the sharks, causing them to bleed. That’s why they went after people.”
A massive search operation involving jet-skis and helicopters failed to find any trace of the swimmer on Monday, and was expected to resume today.
All the nearby beaches were closed by the authorities following the rare encounter and lined with black flags to enforce a swimming ban.
Police also set up a fence around the mouth of the Hadera River.
Monday’s attack came days after two dusky sharks were spotted swimming of the coast of Beit Yanai, not far from Hadera.
Dusky sharks are usually considered harmless to humans.
They often gather in the area, along with the endangered sandbar shark, because they like the warm water released by a nearby power plant.
Yehuda Zimbris, who filmed the sharks at Beit Yanai, said: “I suddenly noticed two shadows in the water. I started recording and saw they were sharks.
“They got within 50-100 metres of the shoreline, which caused panic among swimmers.
“Still, some tried to approach them despite the lifeguard’s clear orders to get out of the water.
“The sharks then moved from south to north, did a sort of ‘dance’, and eventually disappeared.”
Israel’s Interior Ministry urged the public to stay out of the water and reiterated: “Black flags will be posted at all beaches in the region, marking that swimming is prohibited.”
A member of the IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group explained that large numbers of people gathering around sharks is dangerous, and can easily lead to attacks.
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She reported there is a history of people pulling sharks by the tail or entering the water with children to “play” with them – and she called for stricter enforcement.
If the shark attack is confirmed, it would be just the fourth documented in Israel in the past 80 years.
