At least 50,000 flee their homes after arson ‘terrorists’ spark devastating wildfires in Israel
Desperate locals forced to load their entire lives into shopping trolleys in bid to flee homes as fire wreaks havoc in Haifa
A WILDFIRE in Haifa, Israel, has forced at least 50,000 people to evacuate their homes — as officials raised the possibility Arab arsonists started the blaze on purpose.
The devastating fire has spread quickly due to dry, windy weather, burning its way through neighbourhoods in the nation’s third largest city and sending terrified residents fleeing with just the bare essentials.
While no serious injuries have been reported as of yet, several locals have been hospitalised for smoke inhalation.
Israeli officials have called up hundreds of military reservists to help the overstretched police and fire crews fight the blaze.
The government has also made use of an international fleet of firefighting aircraft in a desperate bid to end the disaster.
Russia, France, Cyprus, Turkey, Croatia, Greece and Italy have all pitched in to help the nation fight the fires this week.
The blaze in Haifa on Thursday was the worst in a series of fires to have hit the country in the past few days.
Some braved the blaze, and connected hoses together from flat buildings to help battle the fire.
Visiting the devastated area, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said anyone involved in setting or spreading the fires would be severely punished.
He said: “It's a crime for all intents and purposes and in our opinion it is terror for all intents and purposes.”
While the PM did not elaborate on the identity or possible motives of any suspected arsonists, Israeli officials generally use the word “terror” when referring to militant activity by Arab or Palestinian forces.
His accusations could test the already fragile relations between the nation’s Jewish majority and Arab minority, which has long been the subject of discrimination.
In an interview with, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan said authorities had already arrested eight people, and that arson was suspected in half of the fires.
Speaking to reporters, Police Chief Roni Alsheich said the nation "needs to be prepared for a new type of terror".
He continued: "It's safe to assume that whoever is setting the fires isn't doing it only out of pyromania.
“It's safe to assume that if it is arson it is politically motivated."
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Ayman Odeh, the head of a joint Arab bloc of parties in Israel's parliament, called for to Israelis to abandon "politics" during the difficult time.
He told Israeli : "This is something that harms all of us.
“This is not a story of Arab or Jew. Whoever did this is an enemy of all of us.”
Israel was last hit by a rash of fires in 2010, when an uncontrolled blaze killed 42 people and was extinguished only after firefighting aircraft from as far away at the US joined the effort.
The country has made considerable efforts to strengthen its firefighting capabilities since then, bringing in a number of special planes that can drop large quantities of water on affected areas.
Fires later broke out near Jerusalem and in northern Israeli district Zichron Yaakov.
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