JERUSALEM: Israeli firefighting teams battled bushfires that threatened Jerusalem for a second day on Thursday, with police reporting the reopening of several major roads that had been closed.
The fires broke out on Wednesday along the main Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway, prompting police to shut roads and evacuate thousands of residents from nearby communities.
Israel’s firefighting service said 163 ground crews and 12 aircraft were working to contain the blaze, which authorities said was the country’s largest in a decade.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had warned the flames could reach Jerusalem, declaring the situation a “national emergency.”
Crews worked through the night, allowing the reopening of main roads, including the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv route, according to police.
“All routes have been reopened to traffic,” they said in a statement, adding residents of the Mavo Horon settlement had been allowed to return.
AFP footage on Thursday showed firefighters dousing scorched fields near a church and a stand of charred tree trunks.
Several ceremonies scheduled for Wednesday — the eve of Israel’s Independence Day — were canceled due to the fires, but events to mark the occasion were still being held on Thursday.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir hinted that arson may be behind the fires, though authorities have not presented any evidence to support such claims.
While wildfires are not unheard of in Israel this time of year in the past, they are not considered a regular occurrence.
Rescue agency Magen David Adom said it treated 23 people on Wednesday, mostly for smoke inhalation and burns.
Seventeen firefighters were injured, according to public broadcaster Kansas
The Israeli military said its personnel 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,” said a military statement.
“The IAF (air force) continues assisting in the effort to extinguish the fires,” it said, adding that about 50 firetrucks were dispatched to where the blaze had spread.
Fanned by strong winds, the fires spread rapidly through wooded areas on Wednesday, prompting evacuations from at least five communities, police 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,” evacuee Yuval Aharoni, 40, said on Wednesday.
“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 said from the side of a highway, flames visible in the distance.
Late Wednesday, the foreign ministry said firefighting aircraft were expected to arrive from Croatia, France, Italy, Romania and Spain to join the operation.
Cyprus and Serbia also announced they were sending firefighting helicopters to Israel.
