24 People Injured In Forest Fires In Israel

JAKARTA - About 24 people were injured in smokehaling as Israeli authorities evacuated several cities and closed major highways in Israel amid forest fires caused by high temperatures.

Previously, the daily Yedioth Ahronoth said 12 people were injured by the blazing fire, while Assaf Harofeh Hospital near Jerusalem confirmed receiving 10 people for treatment, the KAN public broadcasting agency reported by ANTARA from Anadolu, Thursday, May 1.

The Fire and Rescue Service asked residents of Neveh SALom, Beko'a, Ta'ox, and Mesilat Tzion to evacuate, given the fires that appeared in several areas.

The firefighters have deployed 111 officers and 11 planes to extinguish the fire.

According to Israel's Channel 12, the fire now exceeds the scale of the devastating Carmel forest fires in 2010.

KAN reported that a fire broke out in the Estahol Forest area, which is located between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

Authorities also closed the main highway linking the two cities as a precaution.

The Fire and Rescue Service raised its level of vigilance to the highest level due to intense fires and called for international assistance to extinguish fires from Greece, Croatia, Italy, and the Greek Cypriot Government to help extinguish fires between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

According to Channel 7, Israel has prepared air force bases to accommodate foreign military fire engines if needed.

As a result of the fire, the train service between Ashdod and Ashkelon in the south had been stopped, so passengers had to get off, Israel's daily Hayom reported.

To address the cessation of train services, Israeli Transport Minister Miri Regev issued a directive to the authorities for diesel-powered trains to be deployed if the country's power grid was disrupted by ongoing forest fires, Army Radio reported.

Jerusalem District Fire and Rescue Commander Shmulik Friedman said the forest fire was probably the largest in Israeli history, Radio reported.

Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Katz declared a national state of emergency the previous day and ordered soldiers to help firefighters in the hilly area of Jerusalem.

Channel 12 reports that Israel canceled all scheduled "Independence Day" celebrations due to massive forest fires.