Cyprus was among the countries which Israel asked for help to combat wildfires raging near Jerusalem on Wednesday evening, according to Israeli news agency the Tazpit Press Service.
The agency reported that Cyprus was one of five countries to be asked to provide assistance, with Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, and Italy also called upon.
The country’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has, according to the agency, ordered its national security council to cooperate with its national security ministry and its foreign ministry to “lead an international assistance effort for firefighting aircraft”.
Reuters reported on Wednesday evening that the fires were “raging on the outskirts of Jerusalem”, with one main highway being closed and local communities being evacuated.
Television footage showed fires burning along the “Route 1” highway, which links Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, with motorists abandoning their vehicles and running away from the flames.
The Israeli fire brigade’s Jerusalem district commander Shmulik Friedman said the fire may be the “largest there has ever been” in the area and added that “we are far away from having control”.
He also warned that with winds set to pick up through Wednesday evening, the fires may yet spread further.
Asked about the potential cause of the fire, he said, “we have absolutely no clue, and we are not yet dealing with this”.
Israeli newspaper The Times of Israel reported that domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet has been involved with investigations into the fire, with the possibility of arson being investigated.
The newspaper also reported that a 50-year-old resident of Umm Tuba, a Palestinian neighbourhood in occupied East Jerusalem, has been arrested on suspicion of “helping ignite the fires”.
The Israeli police reportedly “received a tip-off that someone had seen a person attempting to set fire to vegetation in southern Jerusalem”.
The man was arrested following “a brief pursuit”, with the Israeli police saying they found a lighter, cotton wool, and other flammable materials on the man’s person.
Meanwhile, Israel’s national emergency and disaster service Magen David Adom said that “at least 13 people” have been admitted to local medical centres as a result of the fires.
Most of the injuries, the service said, were related to smoke inhalation and burns. A further ten people were treated by paramedics but were not hospitalised.