Tel Aviv asks for international help to extinguish fires

As wildfires raged in the Jerusalem hills on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar launched a sweeping diplomatic campaign, contacting over a dozen countries to request international firefighting assistance amid what officials described as one of the largest blazes in Israel’s history.

The first planes were sent by Italy, Greece, Croatia and Cyprus.

Fires around Zion National Park are out of control. Wind is blowing the flames toward residential areas, and smoke is covering the road. The fire is approaching Israel's main transport artery, the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway.