The largest fires in Israel: Flames devour Jerusalem with injuries and huge losses

The Israeli Fire and Rescue Service announced, Thursday, that 119 firefighting crews are continuing to fight fires in the Jerusalem mountains in 11 sectors.

According to the Israeli media, areas witnessing fires are, Sha’ar Hagai, Mesilat Zion, Netaf, Yad Hashmona, Neve Ilan, Mevo Horon, Canada Park, Anbeh to Latrun, Neve Shalom, Burma Road to Eshtaol Forest, Beit Meir and Shoresh.”

Israeli media reported that 17 firefighters were injured while trying to combat the blazes, bringing the total number of injuries to at least 30.

The Israeli media added that 15 large aircraft and firefighting teams from the Israeli Air Force from various bases participated overnight in an attempt to extinguish the fires.

Accoreding to Israeli Ynet website reported that Canada Park was almost completely burned down, and that Highway 1 (the main road between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv) remains closed, with more than 100 cars abandoned by their owners due to the fire being towed away.

“The police are guarding the vehicles to prevent thefts,” said Eliyahu Levy, an Israeli police officer in the Jerusalem Brigade’s operations department.

The Israeli police also closed Road No. 3, in addition to Roads 65, 70, and 85.

Ynet described the event, which began at Wednesday morning, as one of the largest fires in Israel’s history, leading to the cancellation of the torch-lighting ceremony and the near-total cancellation of all other events marking Independence Day.

The Jewish National Fund in Israel as estimating that yesterday’s fire was one of the largest ever recorded in Israel, destroying 24,000 dunams of land.

While the Israeli Fire and Rescue Service expects the arrival of eight planes carrying aid from Cyprus, Italy, and Croatia, the commander of the service’s Jerusalem Brigade said, “The fear is that the winds will pick up at noon and the fires will resume”.

The Shin Bet security service participated in the investigation into the cause of the fire, while Israeli security officials estimated that it was still too early to say whether the motive was nationalistic (i.e., whether the fire was started by an Arab or Palestinian).

A suspect was reportedly arrested in Jerusalem, but it’s still unknown whether he is connected to the fires.

For his part, Yair Netanyahu, the son of the Israeli Prime Minister, raised a “provocative conspiracy theory that the fires were started by arson, specifically by the left”.

In a related context, a report by The Times of Israel emphasized that the vast majority of forest fires in the occupied entity are attributed to humans, and are often the result of negligence.

Israel is experiencing a long, hot, and dry summer, conditions conducive to the outbreak of forest fires, as major fires broke out in 1989, 1995, 2010, 2015, 2019, 2021, and 2023.

A report issued by the State Comptroller in July 2024 revealed that the Israeli Fire and Rescue Service investigated the cause of only about 9% of the fires it dealt with in 2022, and 14% of those it dealt with in 2023.

The report noted that more than 50% of the investigations opened between 2020 and 2022 remained open a year later.

Israel’s Kan Channel confirmed that more than 10,000 people were evacuated due to the fire.

It added that the flames trapped occupation forces inside military bases, train stations, and major roads.

In a statement to Channel 12, security sources attacked the police and fire services, noting that they failed and there is a complete lack of understanding.

Security sources added, “They ignored warnings issued by the army regarding the possibility of fires breaking out during the day”.

Meanwhile, harsh criticism was also directed at National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who, according to Israeli media, obstructed the purchase of firefighting helicopters that could have helped deal with the massive blaze.