Ministers Announce Altalena Found Intact 78 Years After Sinking

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Heritage Minister Amihai Eliyahu announced that a search team found the Altalena intact, 78 years after it sank. The wreck was located at 00:30 on August 24, about 20 kilometers west of Israel’s coast and 503 meters below the surface. The expedition followed roughly two years of staff work and used sonar and advanced seabed-mapping systems under Survey of Israel marine-mapping director Roni Sade. The ship reached Israel in June 1948 carrying immigrants, Irgun fighters, weapons and military equipment; fighting around it killed 16 Irgun members and three IDF soldiers.