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Israel facing ‘national emergency’ as it battles worst fires in a decade, says Netanyahu Israel declares national emergency as wildfires force evacuations
(about 11 hours later)
Firefighters have rushed to control wildfires that have injured several people and prompted the military to deploy troops to help Witnesses tell of ‘walls of flame’ surging across woodland, while high winds disrupt Independence Day events
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has warned that rapidly spreading wildfires near Jerusalem could reach the city, as he declared the situation a “national emergency”. Wildfires continued to threaten swaths of forest and fields in Israel on Thursday, though firefighters successfully reopened the main road linking the country’s two principal cities.
Thick smoke billowed above highways near Jerusalem on Wednesday as firefighters rushed to control wildfires that have injured several people and prompted the military to deploy troops to help. Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, declared a national emergency after the fires broke out on Wednesday along the main Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway, prompting police to shut the route and evacuate thousands of people from nearby communities.
Israel’s Magen David Adom (MDA) rescue agency reported that hundreds of civilians were at risk from the worst fires in years. Hundreds were forced from their homes about 19 miles (30km) west of Jerusalem, and Israel’s most-watched television network, Channel 12, had to break off from broadcasting via its studio about 10 miles from the city during a news bulletin.
MDA said it had provided treatment to around 23 people, 13 of whom were taken to hospital, the majority suffering from smoke inhalation and burns. Among them were two pregnant women and two infants under a year old, it added. High winds that have fanned the fires led to the cancellation of many events celebrating Israel’s foundation in 1948. A prerecorded rehearsal of a torch-lighting ceremony was screened instead of the planned event.
It said the alert level had been raised to the highest tier. The Times of Israel newspaper described “a surreal, fraught evening in which Israel is starting to mark its 77th Independence Day while firefighters battle some of the worst wildfires in its history”.
Speaking from near the city of Modiin as fires burnt on a nearby hillside, resident Yuval Aharoni, 40, said: “It’s just very sad because we knew the weather, we kind of knew that would happen and still we feel like they weren’t ready enough with the big planes that can drop large amounts of water.” In a speech at one ceremony, Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, said the wildfires were “part of a climate crisis that we must not ignore”.
Netanyahu warned that “the western wind can push the fire easily towards the outskirts of [Jerusalem] – and even into the city itself. The anniversary celebrations had already caused controversy after government ministers were heckled at some events for failing to bring back all the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, and on Tuesday rightwing activists attacked a synagogue where a joint Arab-Israeli memorial event was being screened.
“We need to bring as many fire engines as possible and create firebreaks well beyond the current fire lines ... We are now in a national emergency, not just a local one,” he said in a video statement on Wednesday. “The priority right now is defending Jerusalem,” he added. Political tensions are high after a turbulent few weeks with waves of protests and a public clash between Netanyahu and the head of the Shin Bet internal security service. Herzog called for an end to “polarisation” in Israel.
Police closed the main Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway and evacuated residents along the route as brushfires broke out again in an area ravaged by blazes a week ago. Communities housing thousands of people have been cleared out. Israel’s military said troops were helping in Jerusalem and other central districts. “Overnight dozens of engineering vehicles started operating throughout the country to form lines to prevent the fire from spreading into other trees,” it said in a statement. “The IAF [air force] continues assisting in the effort to extinguish the fires.”
“A lot of police arrived, a lot of firefighters, but it didn’t really help. The fire had already completely taken over the whole area here,” student Yosef Aaron told AFP, speaking on the side of a highway with flames visible in the distance. Israel’s firefighting service said 163 ground crews and 12 aircraft were working to contain the flames. Military planes have dropped hundreds of tonnes of retardant in an effort to stop the spread of the blaze.
Fire chief Eyal Caspi warned at a televised press conference that “our aircraft can’t do anything right now due to the weather conditions... Our goal is to save lives”. Magen David Adom, Israel’s medical rescue service, said it treated 23 people on Wednesday, mostly for smoke inhalation and burns. Seventeen firefighters were injured, according to the public broadcaster Kan.
“We are apparently facing the largest fire in Israel in a decade.” Witnesses described “walls of flame” surging across woodland on the slopes of the foothills west of Jerusalem, though the situation appeared to have improved on Thursday as winds dropped and a light rain fell.
The police said on X that they had deployed in force around the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway and the Jerusalem Hills, asking the public to “avoid travelling to the area”. There has been some criticism of the response of emergency services. Speaking from near the city of Modiin as fires burned on a nearby hillside, Yuval Aharoni, 40, said: “It’s just very sad because we knew the weather, we kind of knew that would happen, and still we feel like they weren’t ready enough with the big planes that can drop large amounts of water.”
An AFP journalist at the scene earlier on Wednesday said the blaze was sweeping through wooded areas near the main road between Latrun and Bet Shemesh, and that helicopters were working to extinguish the flames. Late on Wednesday, the foreign ministry said firefighting aircraft were expected to arrive from Croatia, France, Italy, Romania and Spain to join the operation.
Soldiers arrived on the scene mid-afternoon, with many drivers abandoning their vehicles to flee the fire. The fire and rescue service’s Jerusalem district commander, Shmulik Friedman, described “a very large wildfire, maybe the largest there has ever been in this country” and said the effort to contain the blaze would continue for “a very long time”.
Communities located about 30km (19 miles) west of Jerusalem were evacuated, Israeli media reported, airing images of firefighting teams battling fierce flames. Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right national security minister, hinted that the fires may have been deliberately started, though authorities have not presented any evidence to support such claims.
National security minister Itamar Ben Gvir hinted that arson could be behind the fires. Police said they had arrested a resident of east Jerusalem who was caught “attempting to set fire to a field in the southern part of the city”. AFP contributed to this report
There was no official declaration directly linking the two.
MDA said ambulance teams had been positioned near communities close to the fires and were ready to provide medical treatment and assist residents.
High temperatures and strong winds have allowed the fires in wooded areas to spread quickly, prompting evacuations from at least five communities, the police said in a statement.
Ben Gvir, who oversees Israel’s fire department, visited the affected area, which is prone to wildfires at this time of year.
In a video statement, he said work was being done to bring more assistance to the affected areas and evacuate stranded civilians.
The foreign ministry has contacted nearby countries including Greece, Cyprus, Croatia, Italy and Bulgaria for assistance.
Netanyahu’s office said three aircraft would arrive soon from Italy and Croatia to help fight the fires.