Fire rages near Beit Shemesh, residents evacuated from homes
Gaza incendiary balloons and kites continue wreaking havoc in Israeli communities by strip's border, with at least 5 blazes breaking out as a result; in the Jerusalem hills, 25 firefighting crews and 10 air tankers battling massive conflagration.
A large fire broke out near Beit Shemesh in the Jerusalem hills on Thursday afternoon, and residents of Moshav Beit Meir were evacuated from their homes as a precaution.
In an attempt to gain control over the fire, forces from all over the district were called to the scene, and a special fire and rescue air squadron was called upon to assist the ground forces.
Overall, 25 firefighting teams, 10 firefighting planes, and a police helicopter were operating at the scene.
A fire broke out in the Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council area, where firefighters quickly gained control of the flames. There were no casualties and no damage was caused.
Meanwhile, an incendiary balloon found in Sderot was neutralized by a police sapper. In the course of the afternoon Thursday, several fires broke out in the Sdot HaNegev and Bnei Shimon regional councils. One of these blazes spread out and caused damage to electricity infrastructure.
An additional fire broke near Kibbutz Zikim and caused significant damage to dozens of acres of eucalyptus trees and nearby greenhouses. Six firefighting teams, two command vehicles, firefighting planes and engineering equipments have been battling the flames.
This Saturday will mark 100 days since the beginning of the trend of incendiary kites and balloons being launched into Israeli communities bordering the Gaza Strip.
