Just a week after swine flu claimed its first Israeli citizen, a 24-year-old Arab woman became the second fatality in Israel from the disease. Health officials said more than 1,700 people in Israel are currently infected with the H1N1 virus.

Jihan Assad Mussa, a resident of Tarshiha, died Saturday night from the virus.  She was described as being chronically overweight and having been hospitalized just days earlier with pneumonia in Nahariya.

Israel's first swine flu victim, 35 year-old Eilat resident Shimon Ezran, was also overweight, and was a habitual smoker.

Another man, a 44-year-old Tel Aviv resident, died Friday night after having already recovered from the flu at Ichilov Hospital. Hospital officials stressed that he did not die from the disease, but rather from a bacterial infection. The man was listed with several risk factors.

Yet another man, 34, remains in critical condition at Ichilov, his pulmonary function severely compromised as a result of his H1N1 infection.

Health Ministry Director General Professor Avi Yisraeli issued an alarming prediction Sunday that 700 Israelis would die of the illness, either as a direct result or from complications that followed.  At the Knesset Health Committee meeting, Yisraeli warned that most of the victims could be children.

There are currently more than 1,700 known cases of swine flu in Israel, with authorities estimating that up to a quarter of the population – 1.85 million people – could be infected before the virus is quelled.  However, the Health Ministry urged citizens to understand that the overwhelming majority of cases would not cause long-term problems.

Last Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman to purchase H1N1 vaccines for every member of Israel's population – 7.5 million people – at a cost of NIS 450 million.

Israel will also institute a swine flu hotline to answer questions posed by the public. The hotline will operate on Wednesdays and Thursdays between 8:00 am and 4:00 pm.  The numbers to call are as follows: 

Jerusalem area: 02- 5314847

Tel Aviv area: 03-5684655

Haifa area: 04-8632995

Northern area: 1-800-301-333

Central area: 08-9788669

Ashkelon area: 08-6745317

Southern area: 08-6263544

More than 130,000 people worldwide have contracted swine flu since the global pandemic began, and more than 800 people have died as a result. In the Middle East, less than 10 have died: two in Israel, four in Saudi Arabia, one in Lebanon and one in Qatar.

Israel's first case of swine flu, contracted by Moshav Geulim resident Tomer Vajim, was diagnosed in April shortly after the first outbreak in Mexico.  Since then, 22 serious cases of the disease have been recorded in Israel, with 11 patients fighting for their lives in intensive care hospital units.

A recent United States study suggests pregnant women are at increased risk, with the World Health Organization (WHO) instructing health officials worldwide to administer the anti-viral medication Tamiflu to all women who present with respiratory problems within 48 hours of acquiring flu symptoms.