Israel is facing one of the most destructive fires (perhaps the most destructive) in its history, as the fire front that “opened” Wednesday morning near Mesilat Zion, outside Jerusalem, is still raging out of control, causing mass evacuations, traffic disruptions, injuries, and international mobilization.

The head of the Jerusalem District Fire Department, Smulik Friedman said: “We are in the midst of an extremely large fire, perhaps the largest ever recorded in the country. Our operation will last a long time. We are very far from controlling the situation,” he said from the Estaol area, where an emergency press conference was held.

According to him, the fire that started at 9:30am was initially moved west due to winds and is now moving back east. Meteorological forecasts show worsening in the evening hours, with wind gusts that could reach 90-100 km/h, which raises huge concerns about further spread.

Rescuers were also called to evacuate frail patients and elderly people who could not move on their own, using ambulances and mobile intensive care units.

See video of a Super Hercules transport aircraft, known to the Israeli military as Shimson, participating in firefighting operations by dropping fire retardant on Mesilat Zion. The aircraft can carry up to 18,000 liters of firefighting materials.

 Raise for international help – Shin Bet is also involved in arson investigations

Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has already contacted his counterparts from the UK, France, France, Sweden, Czech Republic, Spain, Argentina, Northern Macedonia and Azerbaijan, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has officially addressed Greece, Cyprus, Croatia, Italy and Bulgaria for the deployment of aerial fire-fighting assets.

According to a joint statement by the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of National Security and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, international firefighting teams are expected to operate from Thursday, as overnight flight restrictions make it impossible for firefighting aircraft to operate.

The Palestinian Authority has also offered to assist, however, Israel has not yet responded.

Currently, aircraft from the Israeli Elad aerial firefighting squadron, police helicopters, and air force units are operating and are on immediate standby.

At the same time, the internal security agency Shin Bet has taken over part of the investigation into the causes of the fire, as there are suspicions that some of the fires may be due to arson. The agency is also assisting police in identifying possible suspects.