Brussels (Brussels Morning) Wildfires raged in Greece and Israel on Monday, with Israel calling for international help.
Israeli authorities have evacuated hundreds due to wildfires outside Jerusalem as firefighters tried to contain the fires for the second day, according to Reuters reporting on Monday.
According to medics, no serious injuries were reported but they treated some people for smoke inhalation.
The Israel Fire and Rescue Services noted that ten firefighting planes and around 75 firefighting crew were trying to bring the wildfires under control, while Minister of Public Security Omer Bar-Lev pointed out that the blazes had destroyed more than 17,000 hectares of vegetation.
On Monday, Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Yair Lapid asked Greece, which is struggling to contain its own wildfires, to send air support to help contain the blazes near Jerusalem. His Greek counterpart Nikolaos Dendias promised Greece “would help as much as it could.”
The Israeli Foreign Ministry noted in a statement that it asked for help from Greece, Cyprus, France, Italy and other countries.
Fires in Greece
The wildfires in Greece forced several villages to be evacuated, but authorities did not report any casualties.
One wildfire broke out around 60 kilometres south of Athens on Monday, with more than 90 firefighters, six firefighting planes and a similar number of helicopters deployed to contain it.
A second fire broke out about 50 kilometres north of Athens in a forested area. Authorities dispatched fire firefighting planes and five helicopters to assist firefighters.
Greece and other Mediterranean countries are facing a heatwave, with over 500 wildfires breaking out across the country in recent weeks. The wildfire on the island of Euboea burned for more than seven days earlier this month, forcing thousands to be evacuated.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis apologised for botched responses and announced an aid package for Euboea and the Athens region worth 500 million Euro.
