Fires Erupt in Northern Israel Following Attacks from Lebanon

Major fires have erupted in northern Israel overnight. The Israeli police reported this on Tuesday morning, attributing the blazes to rocket fire from southern Lebanon.

According to Boris Eisenberg, head of the Israeli local firefighting service, the fire has spread across approximately 400 hectares of the northern region. The Israeli firefighting and rescue services have stated that 18 firefighting crews, including an aerial firefighting unit, were involved.

The teams have worked throughout the night and "established control in all areas," Eisenberg said.

Authorities have begun evacuating residents as fires broke out in the mountainous Galilee region around noon local time on Monday, according to the Israeli police. They announced assistance in evacuating homes in the northern city of Kiryat Shmona, located near the Lebanese border.

The fires started after Israel warned on Monday of an expected heatwave. The Lebanese Islamist group Hezbollah stated on Monday that it had launched a "drone swarm" towards Israeli military command in Galilee, causing fires at the site. The group claimed this was a response to Israeli strikes on Hezbollah residences in southern Lebanon, adding that three Hezbollah fighters were killed on Monday.

Thousands of Israeli residents were forced to leave their homes following the outbreak of cross-border military operations between Hezbollah and Israeli troops in October of the previous year. The Lebanese group has stated that its attacks in northern Israel are a response to the war in Gaza.”