Firefighters take control of Western Galilee blaze as wildfires rage on

A fire broke out Wednesday afternoon in a forest next to the community of Gilon in the western Galilee and spread to Gilon itself, forcing the evacuation of all the residents. A number of houses were damaged but a large force of firefighters gained control of the blaze and is now attempting to extinguish it. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan and Police Commissioner Roni Alsheikh received a briefing on the wildfires in central and northern Israel at an Israel Police command center. Netanyahu said that he had instructed the National Security Council to coordinate the offers of firefighting aid from nearby countries including Cyprus and Greece.