Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Wednesday afternoon traveled to the command center near Beit Shemesh where Israel’s Fire and Rescue Services are leading the efforts against the wildfires near Beit Shemesh and the Jerusalem Hills that broke out earlier on Wednesday amid an intense heatwave and strong winds.

IAF aircraft have joined the firefighting efforts, along with nine Fire and Rescue aircraft and 110 firefighter crews. Home Front Command forces are assisting with the evacuation of three yishuvim near Beit Shemesh: Eshta’ol, Mesilat Tzion, and Beit Meir. Employees of the Khan Sha’ar Hagai National Heritage Site were also evacuated.

A number of roofs and yards of houses in Mesilat Tzion caught on fire on Wednesday evening.

Netanyahu said at the assessment: “We need to prevent losses, and to do that, we must first continue to operate the firefighting force with all its might, if possible throughout the night.” The Prime Minister’s Office stated that Netanyahu suggested preparing for the possibility of foreign countries aiding in extinguishing the fires if necessary.

All firefighters across the country were called up to help battle the flames. A female Border Police officer suffered from smoke inhalation and was evacuated to the hospital in moderate condition.

Highway 1 has been closed to traffic as forces continue to battle the flames near Beit Shemesh. The flames are burning at three main areas in the forests around Beit Shemesh, and due to winds, are spreading to adjoining populated areas.

Multiple wildfires broke out on Wednesday morning, with two major fires erupting near Highway 6 and near the moshav of Tarum, near Beit Shemesh.

Af firefighting teams battled the flames, police stopped traffic on parts of Highway 6 after a large fire broke out between the yishuvim of Petachya and Pedaya. Train services in the area were also halted as the fire approached the train tracks. Some drivers were forced to flee their vehicles to escape the fire. A police vehicle caught fire, but Baruch Hashem, there were no casualties.

The police evacuated residents of Pedaya and are preparing to evacuate additional yishuvim.

Later, the fire also spread in the Kfar Menachem area near Kiryat Malachi, and train traffic was also stopped between Lod and Be’er Sheva. At the same time, a serious forest fire also developed at the entrance to Moshav Tarum, north of Beit Shemesh. Security forces began evacuating the yishuvim of Eshtaol and Mesilat Tzion near Beit Shemesh, and Highway 44 was blocked. Police have closed traffic from Beit Shemesh to Jerusalem on Route 38.

At least 45 firefighting teams, aided by aircraft, are fighting the flames in multiple arenas, along with teams from the KKL JNF (Jewish National Fund).

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)