Northern Israel ‘up in flames’: Former Israeli PM Bennett
Naftali Bennett, a right-wing Israeli politician and former prime minister, has criticised the Israeli government’s handling of fires burning in the north of Israel caused by Hezbollah rocket fire.
“The fire is spreading,” and “we must save the north”, Bennett said in a lengthy post on X, where he described Hezbollah’s cross-border attacks on northern Israel as “heavy”.
“Places that were flourishing and beautiful have become cities of ruins,” Bennett added, claiming that people who had evacuated were “already planning their lives elsewhere.”
Smoke and fire is seen near Kiryat Shmona, in northern Israel, following Hezbollah rocket attacks on Monday
Most blazes in northern Israel now under control, says fire department
Israel’s fire department says most of the fires that were raging in the country’s north are now under control.
The emergency services said in a statement that one major fire, which burned nearly 990 acres near the kibbutz of Amiad in the Galilee region of northern Israel, was extinguished after a nine-hour battle.
Earlier, we reported that more than 30 firefighter teams were battling blazes in northern Israel, which were triggered by drone and missile attacks launched from Lebanon by Hezbollah.
Forest fires have also been ignited by Israeli shelling in southern Lebanon, damaging residential areas as well as olive groves and beehives.
Both Israel and Hezbollah continue to exchange cross-border fire amid soaring temperatures, which reached 41 degrees Celsius (105 degrees Fahrenheit) in Tiberias, in the Galilee region, on Monday.
