The defense establishment suspects that some of the fires may have been caused by arson • Fire control was achieved in the Modi'in area • The fire near the Galilee landscape is still raging
Fire in the Lower Galilee // Photo: Gil Atzmon Forest JNF
Photography:
Gil Eliyahu - Ginny
Damage to a residence in Haifa // Photo: Michel Dot Com
Photography:
Jonathan Saul
IDF fighters joined the firefighting operations
Photography:
IDF spokesperson
A wave of fires in Israel:
Several fires broke out in several centers, in the Samaria area, in the Galilee and in the Hefer Valley, when thousands of people were evacuated from their homes, roads were closed to traffic and great damage was done in some settlements.
While in the area of the city of Modi'in and Kafek Reut, firefighters managed to gain control of the fire during a night operation, the fire in the Galilee is still burning.
Chief Fire Commissioner Rabbi Tafser Dedi Simhon said in an interview with News 12 that "the fires were caused as a result of a human factor. It is not clear if this was an arson."
Security officials suspect that some of the fires were caused by malicious arson, but no concrete information has been received at this stage.
The defense establishment estimates that some of the fires were caused by burning pruning and not maliciously.
Earlier, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held consultations under his leadership on fires across the country with the participation of the Minister of Internal Security, the Acting Commissioner, the Fire Commissioner, the head of the National Security Council and other parties. During the consultations, international assistance was considered.
Photo: Shmuel Buharis, Gil Kramer
The Prime Minister received an update and review from the Fire Commissioner on the firefighting efforts, and sought to ensure that all available resources were used and, if necessary, to consider international assistance.
The commissioner noted that such assistance is not currently required and that the fire brigade is assisted by police forces and the Home Front Command.
In the Galilee, seven residential buildings in the neighborhoods near the fire station in the Galilee landscape caught fire.
Residents had been evacuated earlier by police forces.
5,000 residents of the settlement have been evacuated so far.
The circumstances of the fire in the area of Kfar Ha'oranim will be examined, and the connection to the fires that were ignited last night during the riots and clashes that broke out between the residents of Modi'in Illit and the police forces,
Thirteen rioters were arrested and many reports were distributed.
Firefighters from the Modi'in Illit station worked all night to put out the fires that were ignited by the angry young people, and did so under a meter of stones, glass bottles and various objects thrown at them during the firefighting efforts.
In fact, for several nights now firefighters have been forced to put out the fires lit by rioters.
Photo: Fire and Rescue Spokeswoman
A fire also broke out in the forest at Mevo Dotan.
Following the spread of the fire towards the settlement, it was decided to evacuate all its residents.
In the evening, the fire was brought under control.
A thorn bush fire broke out near the settlement of Einav.
The fire began to spread towards the houses of the settlement and the firefighters are trying to gain control of the incident.
The fire and rescue service announced that it had been decided to evacuate the first line of the settlement's houses.
A huge fire is raging between Modi'in Illit and the village of Oranim // Photo: Michael Hazan
Photo: Judea and Samaria Fire and Rescue Spokeswoman
As mentioned, the IDF also assisted in the fires in the village of Oranim, Bat Hefer and Mevo Dotan. Which broke out near the settlement of Bat Hefer in the area of the Menashe Regional Brigade, and in the evacuation of dozens of families from the line of fire.
A firefighting helicopter was jumped and the axis between Bahan and Bat Hefer was blocked for traffic.
The fighters are also assisting in the fire that broke out in the locality of Mevo Dotan and have begun evacuating the first line of houses in the locality. "
Fires also in the north
At the same time, following the burning of a natural forest in Wadi Ara, firefighters and police evacuated houses in the area.
The firefighting squadron of the Air Force in the police is assisting in the field.
The fire and rescue service stated that "this is a rocky and mountainous area which makes it difficult for the forces to move."
At the end of the situation assessment, the deputy commander of the Menashe area, Sen. Rami Raz, said: "This is a fire that originated in a natural forest in the area.
The police are asking the drivers to be attentive to the directives and traffic arrangements, which are distributed through the media. "
In addition, the commander of the Iron Station, Sen. Eran Levy, instructed the forces in the field to place vehicles on the axes leading to the fire area for the purpose of quick blocking when necessary.
Photo: Lilach Shoval
In the north, other fires took place: in the Churchill Forest in the Galilee landscape and near the Ilut-Tzipori junction.
Firefighters are working to contain the fire.
A fire also broke out near Moshav Margaliot on the northern border.
In the Galilee landscape, 30 houses near the fire area were evacuated, and one of them caught fire.
Rescue Union medical teams are assisting in the evacuation operations.
"So far, about 30 civilians have been evacuated in Rescue Union ambulances to aid centers," the Rescue Union said.
"Also, five verified corona patients and five isolation debtors were evacuated by protected teams of the organization."
Photo: Documentation of fire and rescue operations for Israel, Northern District
MDA teams are also securing firefighters in the Galilee landscape. "So far, MDA teams have treated four casualties in a light condition from smoke inhalation," the organization said.
"In addition, MDA drives mounted on motorcycles and ambulances help citizens evacuate homes at risk to concentration points marked by the municipality."
In addition to all this, in the Hadera area, several forest fires broke out near the Habiba Flames and the Iron Forest.
Many teams operate in the field, in cooperation with volunteers and on-call forces.
Lilach Shoval, Shlomi Diaz, Itzik Saban, Adi Hashmonai and Yaron Doron participated in the preparation of the article.