A forest fire forced the closure of the main motorway connecting Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, sending at least a dozen people to the hospital and turning the gray sky.
Video sequences have shown that vehicles were blocked nearby while the flames spread throughout the area, while another video was showing the fire that was approaching a Catholic monastery.
The fire was whipped by strong winds and hot and dry weather.
The cause is being studied.
The aid was on the road from the whole region, including planes in Italy, Croatia and Northern Macedonia, Israeli officials said.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gideon Sa'ar, said that his office was also in contact with officials of the United Kingdom, France, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Argentina, Spain, northern Macedonia and Azerbaijan.
The helicopters dropped the water to fight the flames from above, while other fire fighting teams responded on mountain biking.
“We hope to reach 150 fire fighting teams,” said Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir.
The fire occurred as Israel observes the Memorial Day for the fell soldiers and the victims of attacks, before independence on Thursday.
Many events planned have been canceled, including the official national ceremony in Jerusalem.
The event was ready for Mont Herzl, near the fire area. Instead, a registration of the general rehearsal was being broadcast.
Persons taken for hospital treatment suffered mainly from smoke inhalation, while 10 other people were treated on the ground, said ambulance services Magen David Adom.
Residents living near the fire zone were evacuated, police said.
Heads of the monastery, the Latin Jerusalem Latin patriarchy, said it was too early to assess the damage. Religious communities have been safely evacuated, they said.
“We pray for everyone's security,” said their statement.
ADVERTISEMENTWhile the flames progressed towards the motorway such as Aviv-to-Jerusalem, many people abandoned their car and fled on foot or have made rides with other vehicles in the direction of the opposite management.
In 2010, a solid forest fire burned for four days on the Mount Carmel in the north of Israel, affirming 44 lives and destroying around 12,000 acres, a large part of the woods.
