The State of Israel (Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl in Hebrew) is on the southeastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea with a territory that also touches the north end of the Gulf of Aqaba, an extension of the Red Sea. Like most of the Middle East the territory of Israel was part of the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire for four centuries until World War I. The area was occupied by British troops in 1917 and after the end of World War I it became part of the British Mandate of Palestine. The state of Israel proclaimed its independence in 1948 when British forces were withdrawn. Since then Israel has fought several wars with its Arab neighbors, and after the conclusion of the Six Day War in 1963 Israel assumed effective control over the former territory of the mandate. Israeli forces withdrew from Gaza in 2005, but otherwise the Mediterranean coastline of the former mandate has remained under Isreali sovereignty throughout the varioußs conflicts. Israel has a coastline about 273 km (170 mi) long facing west on the Mediterranean Sea. In addition, at its southern tip the country has a very short coastline on the Gulf of Aqaba, an arm of the Red Sea. The most important ports are Haifa and Ashdod on the Mediterranean and Eilat on the Gulf of Aqaba. Israel is divided into seven administrative districts (mehozot, sing. mehoz), including one for the occupied West Bank. Lighthouses in Israel are operated by the Administration of Shipping and Ports, an agency of the Ministry of Transport and Road Safety. There are historic light stations at Yafo (Jaffa), Tel Aviv, Har Karmel (Mount Carmel) and Akko (Acre). Hebrew is the official language of Israel. The Hebrew word for a lighthouse is מגדלור (mig'dalor). ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume N of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals for the Mediterranean Sea. Lights of the Gulf of Aqaba were formerly included in volume E of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals but in 2013 they were moved to volume D with new numbers. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 113 for the Mediterranean Sea and 112 for the Gulf of Aqaba.
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Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: North: Lebanon | East: Jordan | South: Egypt South Sinai and Suez | West: Gaza
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Posted June 4, 2007. Checked and revised May 6, 2025. Lighthouses: 18. Site copyright 2025 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.