Fires break out in northern Israel following cross-border attacks from Lebanon

CNN
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Large fires broke out overnight in northern Israel, Israeli police said early Tuesday. They attributed the flames to rocket fire from southern Lebanon.

The flames destroyed about 4,000 dunams (1,000 acres or 400 hectares) of the northern region, said Boris Eisenberg, chief of the fire station in Tiberias. The Israel Fire and Rescue Services said several firefighting teams, including an aerial firefighting squad, were deployed and worked throughout the night.

On Tuesday, Israel’s fire and rescue services battled two fires in the north of the country. Twelve teams were dispatched to Keren Naftali, where a fire had spread in several directions, while ten teams were dispatched to the Biria forest in the Upper Galilee region, where a crashed Israeli interceptor missile had caused a second fire.

“We noticed the interception and responded with increased forces and high intensity. We are on site and trying to contain the fire,” spokesman Uri Cohen told CNN.

“We are dealing with extreme weather conditions, with changing winds, extreme dryness, low humidity and high temperatures. All of these conditions together accelerate the development of the fire,” Cohen said.

It is unclear how long it will take to contain the fire, he said, adding that the fire lasted for many hours on Monday, requiring very “complex firefighting operations.”

“We are currently working at high intensity on the ground and also from the air to contain the fires and bring them under control,” he said.

Authorities began evacuating residents as fires broke out in the mountainous Galilee region at 12 noon local time on Monday, Israeli police said. Israeli police said they helped evacuate homes in Kiryat Shmona, a northern town near the Lebanese border.

The fires broke out after authorities warned the population on Monday of an expected heat wave and warned against setting fires in the forests.

The Lebanon-based Islamist group Hezbollah said on Monday it fired a “swarm of drones” at an Israeli military command center in the Galilee, causing fires in the building. The group said the drones were in response to Israeli attacks on Hezbollah forces and homes. in southern Lebanon, adding that three Hezbollah fighters were killed on Monday.

Thousands of Israeli residents were displaced after cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and the Israeli military began in October. The Lebanese group said its attacks on northern Israel were a response to Israel’s war in Gaza.

During a tour of some of the worst-hit areas, Major General Herzi Halevi, Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, said the Israeli defense force was ready to respond if called upon.

“We are approaching the point where a decision has to be made and the Israeli forces are prepared and well prepared for that decision,” Halevi said. “We have been attacking here for eight months and Hezbollah is paying a very, very high price for that.”

“We are prepared to attack in the north after very good training – including military exercises. We have a strong defense and are ready to attack. We are approaching a decision point,” Halevi added.