Firefighting teams gained control Friday of a blaze that broke out near the settlement of Giv'ot in Gush Etzion, a bloc of Israeli communities south of Jerusalem in the West Bank, after flames advanced toward residential areas.
Israel's Fire and Rescue Services announced that the threat to homes had been removed, though the first row of houses had been evacuated earlier as wind-driven flames approached the community.
The fire ignited during the early afternoon hours close to the settlement and began moving toward residential structures. Firefighters and volunteers from the Judea Regional Station deployed in a defensive line around the homes.
As the blaze advanced, residents in the first row of houses were evacuated. Six aircraft from the "Elad" squadron joined the firefighting effort, working to establish a containment line before the flames could reach the settlement.
Following intensive firefighting operations, Fire and Rescue Services declared the incident under control. Deputy Superintendent Tamir Erez, commander of the Judea Regional Station, stated: "We have gained control at this time of a very complex incident. Firefighters, volunteers and all security forces operated with great determination, working shoulder to shoulder with the goal of protecting the settlement."
He added: "Thanks to rapid response, precise firefighting operations from the air and on the ground, and excellent cooperation with army and police forces, we succeeded in halting the fire and definitively removing the danger from the homes of Giv'ot settlement."
Alongside firefighting forces, the Etzion Brigade, the Etzion District of the Judea and Samaria Police District, and the Gush Etzion Regional Council participated in the operation. A military water tanker reinforced water lines, while medical teams and engineering equipment that created firebreaks to prevent the fire's spread also operated in the field.
