Fires and arson in Haifa. Main

60 thousand people were temporarily evacuated. The arson is suspected of terrorists

All day on November 24, fires continued in Haifa in the north of Israel - fire that arose simultaneously in different places quickly spread due to the dry wind and soon covered a significant part of the city. The victims were avoided, but the disaster became the largest since the time of forest fires in 2010, when more than 40 people died in Haifa. The nature of the spread of fire allows the authorities of Israel to talk about arson. Medusa tells the main thing about this story.

Fires in Israel began on November 23. At the same time, on the morning of November 24, there were no signs of distress in Haifa: as eyewitnesses told Medusa, schools and kindergartens continued to work, the city lived as an ordinary life. However, by the middle of the day on Thursday, the fire grew and covered a significant part of the Haifa. The weather was promoted by the weather: the dry wind and the absence of rain of the year characteristic of this time.

By the middle of the day on November 24, 12 Haifa regions were covered with fire. The firefighters lacked strength to extinguish all the foci of flame; In some places, the fire raged for hours, and fire planes simply flew by, heading for other foci. As the fires were picking up close to residential buildings, the police and reservists of the Israeli defense army were thrown on firefighters.

As a result of fires, 60 thousand people were evacuated from Haifa. People were forbidden to return to the houses before a special order. Police officers organized in the residents abandoned by the residents of the patrol in case of looting. Dozens of buildings, including residential buildings, kindergartens and other institutions, were destroyed by fire. About 100 people are hospitalized with smoke poisoning. The dead or missing has not yet been reported.

Israeli authorities say that fires arose as a result of arson. The version of negligence was originally nominated, but by the evening of November 24, they talked about arson more and more often - first in the Ministry of Internal Security, then to the police. At the end of the day, the head of the Israeli police told reporters about the “series of politically inspired arson”; The next day, the Minister of Internal Security Gilad Erdan said that on the site of the very first fire in the city of Zihron-Yaakov, traces of gasoline were found south of Haifa. The nature of the spread of fire also testifies to the version of the fabric: according to the Medusa interlocutors in Haifa, the fire spread in the direction of the wind, but many foci arose in other places - including in areas separated from fires with wide asphalt roads.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu compared the arsonists with terrorists. According to him, fires are simultaneously caused by the natural phenomena and actions of the attackers, and "any arson is terrorism in every sense of the word and will be considered accordingly." There were reports that arson is a coordinated attack on the Israelis, a continuation of street attacks that spread in 2015. Many officials, including the mayor of Haifa, warn society and the media against unreasonable accusations and urge to fight the disaster together.

In connection with the fires, at least eight people have already been arrested. According to the Israeli edition of Gaaret, four Arabs were detained on suspicion of arson, but soon released. A few more people were detained for calls for arson. At the same time, Gilah Erdan emphasized that it is still impossible to conduct a full -fledged investigation, since all the efforts of the authorities are concentrated on rescue operations; All messages about the arson are preliminary. In the Palestinian administration, the charges of arson and calls are denied, noting that the territory of PNA is also covered by fires. According to The Times of Israel, the Palestinian firefighters offered assistance in the fight against fire on November 24, and the Israeli side accepted it.

By the morning of November 25, fires in Haifa were localized or extinguished. All residents of the city were allowed to return to their homes. However, fires continue in other areas of Israel, including in the vicinity of Jerusalem.