Israel has declared a national emergency as wildfires continue to tear through forests and farmland, disrupting Independence Day celebrations and forcing widespread evacuations. Despite the severity of the situation, firefighters have managed to reopen the primary highway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv after it was initially closed due to advancing flames.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the emergency declaration after fires broke out Wednesday near the critical highway. Thousands of residents from nearby areas were evacuated for safety, including hundreds from communities roughly 30 kilometers west of Jerusalem. Even Channel 12, Israel’s most-viewed television network, had to interrupt its live news broadcast due to proximity to the fires.
Strong winds exacerbated the situation, leading to the cancellation of major Independence Day events. Instead of live celebrations, a pre-recorded torch-lighting rehearsal was aired.
The Times of Israel described it as “a surreal, fraught evening in which Israel is starting to mark its 77th Independence Day while firefighters battle some of the worst wildfires in its history”.
During one of the scaled-down ceremonies, President Isaac Herzog addressed the fires, stating they were “part of a climate crisis that we must not ignore”. This year’s commemorations have also been marked by political unrest. Government officials faced public backlash for not securing the release of hostages held by Hamas, and right-wing protesters disrupted a synagogue event marking Arab-Israeli memorial efforts. Herzog appealed for unity, calling for an end to “polarisation” in Israel.
The Israeli military has been deployed to assist firefighting operations in Jerusalem and nearby regions. “Overnight dozens of engineering vehicles started operating throughout the country to form lines to prevent the fire from spreading into other trees,” the military said. “The IAF [air force] continues assisting in the effort to extinguish the fires.”
According to the firefighting service, 163 crews and 12 aircraft were engaged in controlling the fires. Military planes have already dropped hundreds of tons of fire retardant to contain the blaze.
Magen David Adom reported that 23 individuals were treated for injuries, primarily from burns and smoke inhalation. Public broadcaster Kan noted that 17 firefighters were among the injured.
Witnesses described “walls of flame” sweeping through the wooded hillsides west of Jerusalem. However, conditions showed signs of improvement on Thursday, thanks to diminishing winds and light rainfall. Criticism has emerged over the preparedness of emergency services. Yuval Aharoni, speaking near Modiin, said: “It’s just very sad because we knew the weather, we kind of knew that would happen, and still we feel like they weren’t ready enough with the big planes that can drop large amounts of water.”
Late Wednesday, Israel’s foreign ministry announced that firefighting aircraft from several European nations—including Croatia, France, Italy, Romania, and Spain—were en route to assist.
Shmulik Friedman, commander of the fire and rescue service’s Jerusalem district, characterized the situation as “a very large wildfire, maybe the largest there has ever been in this country” and warned that containment efforts could last “a very long time”.
