Israel’s forest fires extended near Jerusalem, drawing a National Emergency Declaration of Netyahu

Bet Shemesh, Israel – The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, warned Wednesday that the spread of forest fires quickly near Jerusalem could reach the city, since he declared that the situation was a “national emergency.”

The thick smoke surpassed the roads near Jerusalem when firefighters rushed to control the forest fires that have hurt several people and led the military to deploy troops and other resources to help.

The Magen David Adom rescue agency of Israel reported that hundreds of civilians were at risk of the worst brushes fires in years.

MDA said he had provided treatment to around 23 people, 13 of whom were taken to the hospital, most who suffered from smoke inhalation and burns. Among them were two pregnant women and two babies under one year, he added.

He said the alert level had risen to the highest level.

Speaking from near the city of Modiin as burned fires on a nearby slope, the resident Yuval Aharoni, 40, said: “It is very sad because we knew the climate, we knew that would happen and we still feel that they were not enough enough with the large planes that can release large amounts of water.”

Netanyahu warned that “the western wind can push the fire easily towards the outskirts of (Jerusalem), and even the city itself.”

“We need to bring as many fire trucks as possible and create lower fire far beyond the current lines of fire … now we are in a national emergency, not just a place,” he added in a video statement. “The priority at this time is to defend Jerusalem.”

The police closed the main road of Jerusalem-TeL Aviv and evacuated the residents along the route as the brush fires exploded again in an area devastated by the fires a week ago. The communities that house thousands of people have been clear.

“A lot of police arrived, many firefighters, but did not really help. The fire had already completely seized the entire area here,” said Yosef Aaron to the News, speaking to the side of a road with visible flames in the distance.

Fire Chief Eyal Caspi warned of a televised press conference that “our plane cannot do anything at this time due to climatic conditions … Our goal is to save lives.”

“We apparently face the largest fire in Israel in a decade.”

The police said in X that they had been deployed in force around the AVIV road in Jerusalem-Tel and the Hills of Jerusalem, asking the public to “avoid traveling to the area.”

An News journalist on the scene on Wednesday said that the fire was sweeping through forested areas near the main road between Latrun and Bet Shemesh, and that helicopters were working to extinguish the flames.

The soldiers arrived at the scene in the middle of the afternoon, and many drivers left their vehicles to flee from the fire.

In a statement, the Israel defense forces said that since Wednesday, the troops with the Search and Rescue brigade and a regional Jerusalem unit had deployed, “together with approximately 50 fire trucks from the Homefront command and the technological and logistics direction”, to work directly with firefighters in the Jerusalem hills.

“During the night, dozens of engineering vehicles began operating throughout the country to form lines of fire to prevent the fire from extending to other areas,” said the FDI.

The communities located about 19 miles west of Jerusalem were evacuated, Israeli media reported, they informed, transmitting images of fire extinguishing equipment fighting fierce flames.

The National Security Minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, hinted that the fire caused the fire. Police said they had arrested a resident of Jerusalem that was caught “trying to set fire to a field in the southern part of the city.”

There was no official statement that directly links both.

Ben Gvir said the police would arrested anyone “involved in the terror of the fire”, while monitoring the disturbances.

MDA said the ambulance teams had placed themselves near the communities near fires and were ready to provide medical treatment and help residents.

High temperatures and strong winds have allowed fires in wooded areas to spread rapidly, which caused evacuations of at least five communities, police said in a statement.

Ben Gvir, who supervises the Israel Fire Department, visited the affected area, which is prone to forest fires at this time of year.

In a video statement, he said that a job was being done to provide more assistance to the affected areas and evacuate stranded civilians.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has contacted nearby countries such as Greece, Chipre, Croatia, Italy and Bulgaria to obtain help.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, said solidarity with Israel and offered “material support” in an X publication.

Netanyahu’s office said three planes would soon arrive from Italy and Croatia to help fight fires.

With the stretched staff, Ben Gvir said he had ordered the organizers to cancel the night events linked to the celebrations of the Independence Day of Thursday that they would have required the presence of firefighters.

“The decision aims to reallocate strength to treat fire … and prepare for the worsening of climatic conditions according to forecasts,” said a statement.

In:
• Israel
• Forest fire
• Fire
• Benjamin Neta Nyahu