Massive Wildfires Continue Raging Outside Jerusalem, Thousands Evacuated as International Aid Arrives
Wildfires continued to rage on Thursday in the hills surrounding Jerusalem, with Israeli authorities battling to contain flames that officials warn may be the largest in the country’s history. Thousands of acres have already been scorched, seven communities remain evacuated, and firefighting reinforcements are pouring in from abroad as blazes stretch emergency services to their limit.
As of Thursday morning, 11 major fire fronts remained active on Jerusalem’s outskirts. A total of 119 firefighting teams and 10 Israeli planes were joined by eight aircraft arriving from Cyprus and Italy, according to the Fire and Rescue Service.
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Fueled by a brutal heatwave and winds reaching up to 62 mph, the fires first erupted Wednesday morning near Mesilat Zion, west of Jerusalem, and quickly spread in multiple directions. Israeli security officials are also investigating the fires as deliberate acts of terror.
Entire swaths of forest were reduced to ash, with aerial footage showing blackened hillsides and engulfed trees across Latrun, Eshtaol Forest, Sha’ar Hagai, and as far as Burma Road.
Evacuations were ordered in at least 10 towns, including Neve Ilan, Shoresh, Nataf, and Yad Hashmona. Some residents, such as those in Eshtaol and Mishmar Ayalon, were later allowed to return. The Jewish National Fund estimated Wednesday night that over 2,900 acres had already been burned, with Canada Park near Latrun “almost completely torched.”
