Itongadol.- The summer heat wave being felt throughout the country this week claimed the life of 18-year-old IDF soldier Private Dan Sela in Jerusalem on Tuesday.
Sela, from Afula, collapsed during an army tour in the Old City as a result of sun stroke and was rushed to Share Zedek Medical Center in the capital where he was pronounced dead after efforts to save him failed.
Sela\’s family was notified of his death.
The IDF has opened an investigation into the circumstances of Sela\’s death. IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gadi Eisenkott has also instructed commanders to pay special attention to IDF regulations regarding activity in severe heat conditions.
In addition, a 59-year-old man collapsed at a factory in the Jerusalem suburb of Ma\’aleh Adumim and was transported to Hadassah University Medical Center\’s Mount Scopus campus in the capital in serious condition.
MDA paramedics said that the man likely was the victim of sun stroke as well.
A baby who suffered dehydration during a family trip in the Jordan Valley on Monday remained in critical condition.
A group of some 200 yeshiva students hiking near the Yagur River nature reserve in the Galilee became stranded due to the heat and a lack of water, with some of the students suffering from dehydration. Rescue services began touring the area, locating the group after an hour and evacuating them to safety.
For the sixth day in a row on Tuesday, Israelis experienced the scorching temperatures of a brutal summer heat wave. Slightly cooler than Sunday\’s peak of more than 49°C, the country\’s highest temperature on Tuesday was 45°C, according to data from the Israel Meteorological Service. Both of these maximum temperatures were measured in the Jordan Valley\’s Kibbutz Gilgal.
"We are expecting it to be slightly less warm in the next two days, but it will become very warm again in the weekend," said Dr. Amos Porat, head of the IMS Climate Department.
The IMS forecasts predicted continued unseasonably warm conditions characteristic of a heat wave through at least Saturday, with heat stress decreasing slightly on Thursday but then becoming severe again in most regions on Friday and Saturday. Mugginess on both Wednesday and Friday would likely impact the coastal areas, the forecast added.