Israeli rescue services search for several young people who went missing near Arava in southern Israel after flash floods swept through the area while they were hiking on April 26, 2018 (AFP Photo/Menahem KAHANA)

Jerusalem (AFP) - Three people have been arrested in Israel in connection with the deaths of 10 young hikers in flash floods during a programme to prepare them for military service, police said Friday. Police have also begun making arrests in their investigation into the death of the young Israelis, and have taken members of the staff of the program which took them on the trip. "I am sending all my strength to the security and rescue forces that are currently working to save lives and locate those missing in the severe disaster that occurred today in the Tzafit Valley," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Twitter. The weather caused accidents, road closures and traffic jams across the region, with low-lying roads submerged under a few feet of water. To really understand Israel - subscribe to Haaretz

The ten victims, nine girls and one boy of around 18 years old, were killed when they were swept away by flash floods during a hike at Nahal Tsafit, south of the Dead Sea.
The death toll from flash floods in the Dead Sea, Israel, reaches fourteen including ten teenage hikers with a lorry driver still missing. Three youth workers connected to the hike are arrested. Two Palestinian children are reported to have also died in the West Bank.