A 75-year-old Israeli in the northern city of Kiryat Yat was rescued Wednesday morning after spending more than twelve hours out at sea.
Michael Ioffe had gone for a swim at Kiryat Yam's Amigos beach at 7pm on Tuesday when he was swept out by the current and couldn't swim back to shore.
Ioffe's son Lev, 43, told Ynet that he received a call from his mother at 11:30pm on Tuesday and she told him that his father did not return from his routine swim.
"She told me she was worried. I drove down to the beach to look for him. I know that dad tends to leave his things on the beach, and I did find his clothes and shoes," Lev said.
"When I saw it, I was in a mad panic, I understood the meaning of it, that my father was still in the water. For years, I have been afraid that my father will go into the sea and not come out, and unfortunately, this moment has come.
I thought I'd never see dad again. I still had a glimmer of hope that maybe he managed to get out of the sea and was somewhere more distant, but I also knew that he still hadn't made contact.
I called the police and reported his disappearance. The police arrived immediately with an ambulance. Officers launched extensive searches, and then the Marine Police was also called. They searched all night. I joined the searches in the bay area, but we did not find him. We imagined the worst."
Lev returned home after hours of searching, horrified by the thought he would probably never get to see his father again. But then the phone rang.
"After 7am, I received a call from Sharon from the Marine Police and he told me they found my father and he was alive," he shares.
"He was in the Bay of Haifa, about a kilometer away from the beach. I immediately realized this was a huge miracle. Dad was out at sea for so many hours and stayed alive."
After his rescue, Michael told his family that he kept his cool although he got swept out by a strong current and found himself stranded far out at sea, which may have saved him.
"I tried to swim back to shore but realized I couldn't because of the current. I swam and swam but I did not fight the waves so as not to lose my strength," Micheal said.
"I was confident in myself. I kept my cool. If the police had not come to me in the morning, I believe that at some point, I would have been able to return to the beach by myself. I was not afraid of drowning. I am not a person who is afraid of the sea and the waves."
Paramedics examined Ioffe, who was fully conscious, and determined he was in good physical condition and did not require any medical treatment.
Ioffe is a physics professor. The father of two and grandfather of four made Aliyah with his family from Russia five years ago.
His relatives told Ynet that Ioffe used to struggle with health issues, but took up swimming after immigrating to Israel to improve his health and quality of life.
Ioffe's son Lev thanked the police and rescuers for finding his father.
"I felt like I got dad as a gift. It is not at all certain that he would have been able to swim back to the beach by himself, and I am glad that the police were able to reach him and rescue him. I deeply thank the police and first responders for helping dad," he said.