Israel battles to contain raging wildfires for 2nd day amid calls for international help

​​​​​​​By Abdelraouf Arnaout and Ahmed Asmar

JERUSALEM/ Israeli firefighters continue to battle raging wildfires for a second day Thursday amid appeals for countries to help in containing the blazes.

Jerusalem District Fire and Rescue Commander Shmulik Friedman said efforts to contain the fires may last until at least Saturday.

Public broadcaster KAN indicated that the wildfires have destroyed 20,000 dunams (5,000 acres) of forests in central Israel.

The Israeli Fire and Rescue Service said at least 17 firefighters were reported injured, with two transferred to a hospital for further medical treatment.

It added that 155 firefighting teams, backed by planes, are still taking part in extinguishing efforts that have been raging and expanding since Wednesday.

"At this time, we have not yet managed to control the fires," it said.

The agency also warned residents from entering forests and parks due to the risk of reignition, considering the Canada-Ayalon Park, Eshta'ol Forest, Ben Shemen, Kula Forest, Shoresh recreational areas, Sataf, Burma Road, Neve Ilan, Martyrs Forest, Hulda, Britannia Park and others as "strictly forbidden" areas.

It noted that seven towns in central Israel remain evacuated.

Thousands of residents from several towns were evacuated since Wednesday as a result of the wildfires, which raged between Jerusalem with Tel Aviv, with dozens of cars trapped and drivers walking across the road to escape the flames.

Israel has requested international assistance to extinguish the fires from several countries, according to media reports.

The Haaretz newspaper noted that France, Romania, Croatia, Italy, Spain, and Ukraine will send planes to take part in extinguishing fires.