The fire outside Jerusalem continues to burn for the third day on Tuesday, with 25,000 dunams of forest already scorched, more than the Carmel fire in 2010 which killed 44 people and burned 24,000 dunams of land.

After Israel’s Fire and Rescue Services said on Tuesday that the fire is under control, the Israeli government withdrew its request for international help from its allies.

However, Israel did accept an offer from the Palestinian Authority to assist and four firefighting teams began contributing to firefighting efforts on Tuesday afternoon.

אני מבקש להודות ליו"ר הרשות הפלסטינית מחמוד עבאס, על היוזמה לשליחת כוחות כיבוי שהגיעו לסייע לישראל היום. הערבות ההדדית והצלת חיי אדם הם אינטרס משותף של כולנו. pic.twitter.com/pfNGxrTdnz

— בני גנץ – Benny Gantz (@gantzbe) August 17, 2021

Thousands of residents were forced to evacuate, some twice over two consecutive days, much damage was incurred to homes and other property, and thousands of animals and insects were killed or injured. A number of homes in Givat Ye’arim were completely burned.

ממדי ההרס ביערות ירושלים pic.twitter.com/DIqbFNddXW

— גלעד כהן | Gilad Cohen (@GiladCohenJR) August 17, 2021

Experts say that rehabilitating from the fire will take decades.

A statement from the Communications Ministry on Tuesday said that the fire had damaged Bezek infrastructure and Cellcom and Pelephone service sites in some areas.

The Environmental Protection Ministry warned on Tuesday of high levels of air pollution in Givat Ye’arim and Kibbutz Tzuba.

Below, exhausted firefighters at Kibbutz Tzuba take a nap.

מנוחת הלוחם !

לוחמי האש ימשיכו לפעול ימים ולילות על מנת להבטיח את ביטחונם של תושבי ישראל ! pic.twitter.com/VqOTNVXbhL

— כבאות והצלה לישראל (@102_IL) August 17, 2021

A separate forest fire broke out near a school in Nof Hagalil in the north on Tuesday afternoon and multiple firefighting planes had to be diverted to the area to fight the blaze. Residents of the outskirts of the town have been evacuated.

השריפה בנוף הגליל מוסיפה להשתולל. כוחות רבים הוזעקו למקום https://t.co/Qdj8G39qmJ pic.twitter.com/YU30B4pVTO

— אדר גיציס • Adar Gitsis (@_Gitsis_) August 17, 2021

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)