Hundreds of Chareidi residents of Haifa were evacuated from their homes in the early hours of Thursday morning after Arabs set cars on fire in the parking lot of a Chareidi neighborhood.

“At 4 a.m. I wake up to the sound of my phone ringing,” a resident of the building told Arutz Sheva. “I answered and my friend, who is an MDA medic, said: “Get out of bed, grab your children and run. Your building is on fire.'”

“At this point, I already smell tires burning and then hear the horrific sounds of fuel tanks exploding. A gas pipe nearby also exploded and the front of the building began to go up in flames. I grabbed my children and ran downstairs, where I find dozens of my neighbors who also had fled for their lives.”

“The fire spread and many residents who hadn’t escaped yet were trapped. They received instructions from the fire services to close their doors tightly and seal the house.”

Security cameras show masked Arabs approaching the parking lot, pouring lighter fluid all over and setting the cars on fire.

Arab rioters burn cars in a parking lot of a building in Haifa where hundreds of Jews live. Credit to @yoavetiel pic.twitter.com/arCTFs50qu

— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) May 13, 2021

Media personality Dudi Zilberschlag, who lives in Haifa, wrote on Twitter: “We’ve been abandoned to the rioters. The parking lot of two residential buildings that house over 350 children was set on fire in Haifa. At 4:10 a.m., our oldest daughter arrived at our house with over 10 family members, escaping the smoke in their home. It’s not pleasant to wake up to the sight of children covered in soot struggling to breathe, even less pleasant to know that it won’t even be taken care of.”

“Hatzalah volunteers were called to a major fire in the parking lot of a nine-story building,” said Nati Dana. “Dozens of families escaped the building and some of them suffered from smoke inhalation. Hatzalah volunteers treated over 50 people suffering from smoke inhalation and about 30 were evacuated to hospitals in Haifa for further treatment.”

Fortunately, most of the patients were released after being treated, with only two patients hospitalized for observation. Both are in light condition.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)