A wildfire closes main highway linking Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and sends 12 people to the hospital

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JERUSALEM (AP) — A wildfire shut the main highway linking Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on Wednesday, sending at least a dozen people to the hospital and turning skies over Jerusalem gray.

Video footage showed vehicles stranded nearby as flames spread throughout the area, while another video showed the fire approaching a Catholic monastery.

The fire was being whipped up by strong winds and hot, dry weather. The cause was being investigated. Help was on the way from across the region, including aircraft from Italy, Croatia and North Macedonia, Israeli officials said.

Helicopters were dropping water to battle the flames from above, while other firefighting teams were responding on ATVs.

“We hope to reach 150 firefighting teams,” Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said.

The fire occurred as Israel observes Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and victims of attacks, ahead of Independence Day on Thursday. Many of the planned events were being canceled, including the official national ceremony in Jerusalem. The event had been set for Mount Herzl, near the fire zone. Instead, a recording of the dress rehearsal was being broadcast.

Those taken for hospital treatment mostly suffered from smoke inhalation, while another 10 people were treated in the field, Magen David Adom Ambulance services said. Residents living close to the fire zone were evacuated, police said.

Officials at the monastery, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, said it was too early to assess the damage, if any. The religious communities had been safely evacuated, they said.

“We pray for the safety of everyone,” their statement said.

As flames advanced towards the Tel Aviv-to-Jerusalem highway, many people abandoned their cars and fled on foot or hitched rides with other vehicles heading in the opposite direction.

In 2010, a massive forest fire burned for four days on northern Israel’s Mount Carmel, claiming 44 lives and destroying around 12,000 acres, much of it woodland.