Thousands of people have been fleeing the city of Haifa as wildfires tore across northern and central Israel on Thursday. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that any proof of arson would be treated as an act of terrorism.
“We are facing arsonist terror. In front of arsonist terror we are also facing incitement and also arson. For us they are the same. And we will bring our full legal force to get those responsible,” Netanyahu said.
“It’s a crime in every possible way and for us, it is also terror in every possible way. People can get burned. It has already happened,” He added.
A thick haze of smoke over Haifa had forced authorities to order about 80,000 people to leave the city. Several homes have been destroyed in the fire.
Strong easterly winds and unreasonably dry weather had intensified the fire on Thursday.
Israeli government has sought assistance from the neighbouring countries to tackle the crisis.
Greece, Cyprus, Croatia, Turkey and Russia offered assistance, as strong winds were predicted in the coming days.
Palestinian authorities also offered their assistance, Huffington post reported.
The main highway between Haifa and Tel Aviv was temporarily closed on Thursday as the authorities tried to put out the flames.
