JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Large swaths of northern Israel were engulfed by wild fires set off by rockets launched from Lebanon by the militant group Hezbollah, with rescue teams battling on Monday to get them under control.
Many Israelis who live in towns near the Lebanon border evacuated months ago given the escalating fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. Israeli media reported several minor injuries and that some houses had caught fire.
Hot and dry weather have made the flames harder to contain.
Israel’s parks authority said earlier on Monday that fires had already covered hundreds of acres. The national fire service said its firefighters were operating late into the night in several spots, including in the town of Kiryat Shmona where they were trying to protect a line of houses.
Police said they closed off roads and were telling residents still in the area to clear out.
(Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Stephen Coates)
