Blazes erupt in northern Israel after cross-border attacks from Lebanon

Large fires broke out in northern Israel overnight, Israeli police said early Tuesday, attributing the blazes to rocket fire from southern Lebanon.

Large fires broke out in northern Israel overnight, Israeli police said early Tuesday, attributing the blazes to rocket fire from southern Lebanon. The flames consumed some 4,000 dunams (1,000 acres or 400 hectares) of the northern region, chief of the Tiberias fire station Boris Eisenberg said. Israel Fire and Rescue Services said multiple firefighting teams, including an air firefighting squadron, had been deployed, working through the night. On Tuesday, Israel Fire and Rescue Services in the north of the country were dealing with two blazes. Twelve teams were deployed to Keren Naftali, where a fire had spread in several directions, while 10 teams had been deployed to the Biria Forest in the Upper Galilee area, where a falling Israeli interceptor missile caused a second blaze. “We saw the interception and responded with increased forces and high intensity, we are operating on the spot and trying to contain the fire,” spokesperson Uri Cohen told CNN. “We are dealing with extreme weather conditions, changing winds, high dryness with low humidity, high temperature. All these conditions together accelerate the development of the fire,” Cohen said. It’s unclear how long it will take to contain the fire, he said, adding that on Monday the blaze lasted many hours, resulting in a very “complex extinguishing effort.”