A French sailor lost in the Mediterranean for weeks has been rescued by the Israeli military off the Gaza coast, the army said Friday.
The man was recovered Thursday night drifting in a boat with a broken radio and no steering system near the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian enclave bordering Israel and Egypt, the army said on Twitter.
IDF Navy rescued a French sailor last night who was lost at sea for weeks with a broken radio and no steering system. Our soldiers came across his boat near the Gaza Strip, rescued him, and took him for medical treatment. May he make his way home safely soon! pic.twitter.com/yzknn4PXKn
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) January 18, 2019
"Our soldiers came across his boat near the Gaza Strip, rescued him, and took him for medical treatment," the tweet said.
An army spokeswoman described the man as a fisherman travelling from Egypt towards Gaza. She said he was injured in the leg.
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The tweet included a photo of a smiling man with greying hair wearing a sea jacket and hat and surrounded by soldiers aboard what appears to be an Israeli boat.
There were no further details on the circumstances of the rescue or the man's identity.
The French embassy in Tel Aviv said it had received information about the incident from the Israeli army, but did not have more any more details.
