‘Perhaps the largest fire in Israel’s history’ - Roads closed, Independence Day events canceled, and settlements evacuated

A week after fires spread in the Jerusalem hills, a massive fire broke out Wednesday morning in several areas west of Jerusalem, including Beit Shemesh, Latrun, Neve Shalom, Beko’a, Ta’oz, and Nachshon. 

Initially, the Israel Fire and Rescue Service reported fires in at least five areas in the area west of Jerusalem, while the Israel Nature and Parks Authority said it was evacuating hikers from parks in the area of the fires. 

A fire is burning near Latrun to the south of Route 1 that leads to Jerusalem pic.twitter.com/zMOwmQ7aCU

— Seth Frantzman (@sfrantzman) April 30, 2025

As the fires continued to spread due to high winds, Route 1, the main highway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, was closed, with police calling on people to avoid driving on the road to allow fire and rescue services to quickly reach the affected areas, and to allow residents in the areas to flee, if necessary. 

As the fires spread rapidly, many motorists abandoned their vehicles on the jammed road, fleeing on foot to escape the encroaching fires. 

🚨BREAKING 🚨The brush fire at the mountain of Jerusalem is getting out of hand. Many were evacuated, and the IDF rescue teams have been mobilized to help. pic.twitter.com/SwQwxOtIps

— Raylan Givens (@JewishWarrior13) April 30, 2025

Later in the day, Defense Minister Israel Katz called on the military to help fight the fires raging in the Jerusalem hills area, saying, “We are in a national emergency and we have to concentrate all available forces to save lives and take control of the flames.” 

Fires were later reported in several other areas of the county, including Lachish in the south and Afula in the Galilee area. 

The government also announced, following a special situational assessment, that all Independence Day activities which would require fire or rescue services would be canceled as the nation battles the outbreak of fires in multiple locations across the country. 

Additionally, the Jerusalem Municipality announced the decision to cancel all Independence Day events in the capital city. Tel Aviv also canceled its planned events for the evening, due to the fires. 

Later, other municipalities, such as Ashkelon, Modiin, Beersheba, Mevasseret Zion, Lod, Ariel, and Ma’aleh Adumim, also canceled their planned Wednesday evening Independence Day activities. 

While the Israeli Air Force did not initially engage in any firefighting efforts, saying it had not been asked to do so, later in the day, as the fire raged even larger, and other fires were reported, it deployed C-130J Super Hercules heavy transport planes to help in the firefighting efforts in the Jerusalem area. 

The Air Force also deployed several helicopters to aid in rescue efforts and spotting planes to help monitor fires. 

The Israeli government also reached out to other nations in the Mediterranean area, asking for assistance. 

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar spoke with his counterparts in several countries asking for assistance with the fires.

According to his office, Sa’ar spoke with the foreign ministers of the UK, France, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Argentina, Spain, North Macedonia, and Azerbaijan.

The Prime Minister’s Office released a statement on Wednesday evening saying, “Pursuant to a directive from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the National Security Council has held a situation assessment to advance the international assistance.” 

“Led by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it has been agreed that three Canadair firefighting aircraft from Italy and Macedonia will come to Israel as soon as possible,” the statement continued. 

Fire and Rescue Service’s Jerusalem District commander Shmulik Friedman said the blazes could be the largest fires in Israel’s history. 

“We are amidst a very large wildfire, maybe the largest there has ever been in this country,” Friedman said at a press conference in Eshtaol on Wednesday evening. He also said that fire-fighting activities “will continue for a very long time. We are far from having control.” 

Amid reports of possible arson, Friedman said the Fire and Rescue Services “have absolutely no clue.” 

““We do not currently know what caused the fire, we have absolutely no clue, and we are not yet dealing with this.” 

Friedman also warned that winds, which are expected to intensify over the evening, could cause the fires to spread even more. 

While Israel Police announced the arrest of several suspects who were detained with fire-starting paraphernalia, the government has not formally announced whether the fires are the result of possible nationalist arson or negligence. 

One of the suspects arrested was a 50-year-old resident of East Jerusalem’s Umm Tuba neighborhood, who was suspected of helping light fires after the police received reports of a person trying to light fires in the southern Jerusalem area. 

The Shin Bet announced that it is investigating the fires for possible nationalistic arson, after receiving reports that several of the blazes were manmade.