Magnitude 4.2 earthquake strikes near Beersheba, Southern District, Israel

A magnitude 4.2 earthquake near Beersheba, Southern District, Israel, was reported only 18 minutes ago by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), considered one of the key international agencies that monitor seismic activity worldwide. The earthquake occurred at a shallow depth of 10. km beneath the epicenter in the morning on Thursday, January 15th, 2026, at 9:00 am local time. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.
A second report was later issued by the citizen-seismograph network of RaspberryShake, which listed it as a magnitude 4.2 earthquake as well. A third agency, the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), reported the same quake at magnitude 4.2.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should not have caused any significant damage, but was probably felt by many people as light vibration in the area of the epicenter.
Weak shaking might have been felt in `En Boqeq (pop. 1,400) located 16 km from the epicenter, Arad (pop. 28,000) 16 km away, Dimona (pop. 36,200) 19 km away, Kuseifa (pop. 21,100) 20 km away, 'Ar'ara BaNegev (pop. 17,600) 20 km away, Hura (pop. 21,600) 35 km away, and Tel Sheva' (pop. 20,200) 38 km away.
Other towns or cities near the epicenter where the quake might have been felt as very weak shaking include Beersheba (pop. 186,600) located 44 km from the epicenter, Jerusalem (pop. 971,800) 73 km away, and Ashdod (pop. 226,800) 93 km away.


Earthquake data:
Date & time: Jan 15, 2026 09:00 am (Jerusalem time) local time (15 Jan 2026 07:00 GMT)
Magnitude: 4.2
Depth: 10.00 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 31.11°N / 35.23°E (Southern District, Israel)
Primary data source: EMSC
https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/earthquake/news/291969/Magnitude-42-earthquake-strikes-near-Beersheba-Southern-District-Israel.html