UPDATED NUMBERS OF INJURED SOLDIERS, ADDED PARAGRAPHS ON NEW FIRE ERUPTION IN SAFAD
By Ahmed Asmar
ANKARA (AA) - Israeli firefighting teams on Tuesday continued to battle against the fires that broke out as a result of rockets fired from southern Lebanon.
According to the Times of Israel news website, the Fire and Rescue Services said its teams brought under control by morning most of the fires which were sparked by rockets and drones launched from Lebanon.
The fires led to the closure of several major roads in the Galilee area, it added.
The Israeli Army Radio reported a fresh fire in the Biriya Forest near Safad in northern Israel, with two firefighting teams dispatched to the scene to put it out.
It added that the fire erupted as a result of falling shrapnel after rockets were intercepted.
The Israeli army is assisting in firefighting efforts, it said, adding that seven reservist soldiers were slightly injured due to smoke inhalation and were transferred to a hospital for treatment, along with nine civilians.
Israeli social media accounts published scenes showing the scale of fires in different areas in northern Israel, especially in the settlement of Kiryat Shmona.
Israeli prime minister's office said it was closely monitoring the developments of the fires.
The Hezbollah group on Monday announced in separate statements hitting targets in northern Israel for gatherings of the Israeli army.
Tension has flared along the border between Lebanon and Israel amid intermittent exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah, in the deadliest clashes since the two sides fought a full-scale war in 2006.
The border tension comes amid an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip that has killed over 36,400 people since a major attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 last year.