Fires in 9 Beersheba buildings lead to teen’s arrest on suspicion of arson
Fire and rescue investigators say they found evidence of intentional acts in at least two cases
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House fires broke out in nine separate buildings in Beersheba on Wednesday night, in what officials suspected was a string of arson incidents in the southern city. The fires were all in a single area.
Firefighters rescued 15 people from the burning buildings, including children and babies, and extinguished blazes that broke out in lobbies, electrical cabinets and bomb shelters, a Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said on Thursday.
Fire and Rescue Service investigators were present at the scenes and said that initial findings showed at least two of the nine fires were set intentionally.
A resident of one of the buildings told the Ynet news outlet they were alerted to a problem when his daughter saw smoke coming through their door.
“We opened the door and saw a fire spreading. We poured bottles of water on it, and then everyone came and put out the fire. Now they’re telling us it was probably arson, and in the meantime, we have no electricity and don’t know what to do,” he said.
Another resident, an elderly woman, told Ynet that the Beersheba municipality wasn’t answering the residents’ requests for help to restore power and that the electric company told them to call an electrician.
1) באר שבע: לילה קשה עבר על התושבים ולוחמי האש, שריפות פרצו ב- 9 בנייני מגורים ברחבי העיר באר שבע, חשד להצתות בבניינים ברחוב העלייה, רחוב דרך שמשון, רחוב הרב עוזיאל, רחוב טבנקין, רחוב תל חי, דרך המשחררים רחוב חוגלה, רחוב מוריה ורחבת רד"ק .
בשריפות הלילה חולצו על ידי לוחמי >> pic.twitter.com/uNe2hntDmk
— סודות הנגב (@News_Secrets_of) November 20, 2025
Police arrested a 16-year-old boy on Thursday morning on suspicion of causing the fires, Hebrew outlets reported, adding that police were trying to ascertain his motive and whether there was any danger of more fires being set.
The Times of Israel Community.