According to the boy\u2019s mother, her husband was attending to their daughters for a few minutes, and then discovered Yuval was gone.<\/p>\n
She said he was unlikely to have gone into the water, noting he is afraid of the sea.<\/p>\n
\t Among those operating to find the boy were the Israel Police, the Shin Bet, and Fire and Rescue Services, using means including a helicopter and divers.<\/p>\n In a statement Friday, police said Commissioner Daniel Levy had been in continuous overnight contact with Southern District Commander Haim Bublil, receiving updates from the field and directing forces.<\/p>\n The Fire and Rescue Services said in a statement it was using firefighting ATVs, SUVs, and advanced scanning equipment.<\/p>\n The mostly-volunteer group United Hatzalah, also involved, said it was using \u201call our drones and all our technical capabilities\u201d to find the missing child.<\/p>\n Ran Hilleli, a friend of Kogan\u2019s father, told the Ynet news site: \u201cYou don\u2019t understand how many forces were here last night, and how much they searched \u2014 rescue services and civilians. It doesn\u2019t make sense that the boy hasn\u2019t been found, in the water, on land, anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere is some understanding here that a different approach or way of thinking must be adopted,\u201d the friend said.<\/p>\n Police asked the public to be alert, and to provide any useful information they may have to the 100 hotline.<\/p>\n \t On Friday morning, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir arrived at the scene with the police commissioner.<\/p>\n \u201cWe must do everything we can to bring this child home,\u201d the minister said, according to Channel 12. \u201cI am on my way to Jerusalem from here, to speak with Shin Bet chief David Zini on the matter.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked whether there was a suspicion of kidnapping, Ben Gvir answered that every possibility was being looked into, the report said.<\/p>\n The boy\u2019s mother also spoke with President Isaac Herzog, who told her he was in touch with the police commissioner and the head of the Shin Bet about the case.<\/p>\n Midday on Friday, police chief\u00a0 Levy arrived at the beach in Ashkelon for an assessment of the situation, together with rescuers.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t The war with Iran has been draining for all of us in Israel. But when I heard about a high casualty incident \u2013 ballistic missile impacts in Arad and Dimona that left nearly 200 people wounded \u2013 I drank a cup of coffee, packed a bag, and headed south.<\/p>\n There, I spoke with Shilgit, the head of an after-school program for underprivileged youth. Standing outside her destroyed center, Shilgit said it was a miracle that no children were hurt and spoke about the community coming together in the hours since.<\/p>\n As a Times of Israel reporter, I\u2019m committed to telling stories of resilience like Shilgit\u2019s. But my colleagues and I can’t do this alone. If you value work like this, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to keep real human reporting like this going.<\/p>\n \u2014 Stav Levaton, military reporter<\/p>\n \t\t\t
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\n\t\tYuval Kogan (left) is seen in security camera footage from the day of his disappearance near Hofit Beach in Ashkelon, July 23, 2026. His family says he was wearing a green shirt when they last saw him. (Screenshot via X)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/F260724TA08-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tIsraeli police officers, rescue teams and volunteers take part in extensive search efforts for a four-year-old boy who went missing near Hofit Beach in Ashkelon, southern Israel, on July 24, 2026. (Tsafrir Abayov\/Flash90)<\/p>\n
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