Thousands evacuated as Israel battles raging fires
Hundreds of military reservists have been called up to fight spreading fires by the northern city of Haifa
Israel has ordered the evacuation of thousands of people and called up hundreds of military reservists to battle a spreading fire in the northern city of Haifa.
Police said at least eight neighbourhoods had been evacuated by early afternoon, as smoke spread over the city.
At least 17 people were taken to hospital for treatment for smoke inhalation.
Police and firefighters were deployed throughout the city, as people loaded up supermarket trolleys with belongings and fled their homes.
Some people connected hoses together from apartment buildings to help battle the fires, while residents covered their faces with cloths.
The Haifa fire is the largest of several blazes to erupt across the country over the past two days. The fires have quickly spread due to dry weather and heavy winds.
The series of fires is the worst since 2010, when Israel suffered the single deadliest wildfire in its history.
That blaze burned out of control for four days, killed 42 people and was extinguished only after firefighting aircraft arrived from as far away as the United States.
Israel has strengthened its firefighting abilities since then, buying special planes that can drop large quantities of water on affected areas.
Several countries, including Russia, Cyprus, Turkey, Croatia and Greece – were also sending assistance to battle this week’s blazes.
Guy Catlan, who runs a petrol station in Haifa, said that workers turned the power off and were helping firefighters to prevent flames from reaching it.
“There is a very large quantity of fuel here, it is very dangerous to the entire area, it could be a big catastrophe,” he said.
Spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said police were investigating all possible causes for the wildfires, including arson.
Several roads and schools were closed in some areas of Haifa. Mayor Yonah Yahav said there were several fires in his city.
Mr Yahav also said there were indications one of the fires was caused when “someone tossed a cigarette in an area full of oil and flammable fluids” in an industrial zone.
A spokesman for Israel’s fire and rescue service, Yoram Levy, said that firefighters were working around the clock. He said the fires in Haifa “are probably arson”, and that there was an attempt to torch a fire station.
Police said the blazes started early Tuesday at Neve Shalom, a community outside Jerusalem where Israelis and Arabs live together. Fires later erupted elsewhere near Jerusalem and in the northern Israeli area of Zichron Yaakov.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meanwhile spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin, thanking him for his help in dealing with the fires.
The premier’s office said that Russia is sending two large firefighting aircraft to Israel.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
