Jerusalem: Israeli firefighters worked for the third consecutive day on Tuesday to load the fire that had consumed the great plots of West Forest Jerusalem and threatened several communities.
The Israeli Fire and Rescue Service said that 110 firefighters accompanied by eight aircraft worked to fight the fire that had consumed around 20 square kilometers (7.7 square miles) of land, making it one of the largest forest fires in the history of the country.
On Monday Israel asked the Greek regional allies to ask for help in fighting fires, and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said he also reached Cyprus, Italy and France to possibly help.
Hot, dry and winter weather in recent years has left the wooded hill near Jerusalem especially vulnerable to forest fires.
The kobir fire which began on Sunday has been robed Jerusalem in Pall from thick black smoke.
The head of the fire department and rescue Dedi Simchi said investigators were still working to determine the cause of the fire.
“The fire broke out as a result of human actions, whether it was negligence or rash or hatred or combustion, we did not know,” he told reporters on Monday.