Israel promises to send more reinforcements into Greece for tackling gruesome wildfires

PM Naftali Bennett told his Greek counterpart that Israel will send three planes to help extinguish forest fires in addition to 15 Israeli firefighters already helping. "Prime Minister Naftali Bennett spoke this evening with @PrimeministerGR Kyriakos Mitsotakis and informed him that he had approved the departure of two firefighting planes to assist in extinguishing the wildfires in Greece," Israeli PM's office sent out a late-night tweet on Monday, August 9.

Wildfires broke out in Greece, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and other countries as a result of a heatwave that hit southern Europe in late July. The Greek PM announced on Monday that 568 fires had broken out in the country in the past few days. As devastating blazes continue to ravage Greece, there were two deaths from the raging wildfires. Approximately 400 meters away from where a fire raged in the Fokida region in central Greece, a bulldozer driver got killed on Monday, said the hospital where he was transferred.

A video posted online by the weather service of the National Observatory of Athens showed the extent of the devastation to the island, with more than 120,000 acres (50,000 hectares) reduced to ashes. More than 120,000 acres (50,000 hectares) of the island are reduced to ashes as a result of the blast, according to a video posted online by the weather service of the National Observatory of Athens.

Assessing the damage

Greek officials have begun the process of assessing the extent of the damage to countless homes and tens of thousands of acres of forest following the catastrophic wildfires in the second week. Foreign countries have continued to send support to help fight the fires.

Eight people have died in the nearby Turkey, as well as in Italy and other parts of Europe due to wildfires. On the continent, a prolonged heat wave has created tinderbox-like conditions. "Multiple fires have been contained across large parts but there is a threat of them exploding again," said Vasilis Vathrakoyiannis, spokesman for the Greek Fire Service.

Image: AP