Israel Netanyahu Declares Emergency as Wildfires Force Evacuations

Wildfires continued to threaten swaths of forest and fields in Israel yesterday, though firefighters reopened the main road linking the country's two principal cities.

- Jason Burke

Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, declared a national emergency after the fires broke out on Wednesday along the main Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway, prompting police to shut the route and evacuate thousands of people from nearby communities.

Hundreds were forced from their homes about 20 miles west of Jerusalem, and Israel's most-watched television network, Channel 12, had to break off from broadcasting via its studio about 10 miles from the city during a news bulletin.

High winds that have fanned the fires led to the cancellation of many events celebrating Israel's foundation in 1948. A prerecorded rehearsal of a torch-lighting ceremony was screened instead of the planned event.

The Times of Israel newspaper described "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".

In a speech at one ceremony, Israel's president, Isaac Herzog, said the wildfires were "part of a climate crisis that we must not ignore".