Netanyahu conveys condolences to Greece after wildfires kill 79
Greek fire department spokesperson says crews going house-to-house and searching burned cars and the scorched coastline for further victims
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday sent his condolences to the people of Greece after wildfires killed 79 and decimated seaside communities near Athens.
“Israel mourns with the people of Greece over the loss of life. I express my deepest condolences to the families who lost their loved ones,” the prime minister tweeted.
The message on social media came a day after Netanyahu spoke with his Greek counterpart, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, to convey his sympathies.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday announced it had offered to help Greece to extinguish the blazes.
“Following the terrible fires in Greece, Israeli authorities have approached their peers in Greece in order to offer any assistance needed,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “At this stage, the Greek authorities are saying they have gained control of the fires. In any case, we have put crews on alert. Israel is at the disposal of Greece if it becomes necessary. Greek authorities thanked Israel for the offer.”
Greece sought international help through the European Union as the fires on either side of Athens left lines of cars torched, charred farms and forests, and sent hundreds of people racing to beaches to be evacuated by navy vessels, yachts and fishing boats.
Authorities said Cyprus and Spain offered assistance after the request for EU help was made.
Greek fire department spokesperson Stavroula Malliri said Wednesday that crews are going house-to-house and searching burned cars and the scorched coastline to locate any further victims.
Malliri said authorities have received dozens of calls for missing people, adding that some of those reported as missing could be among the dead, or may have already returned to their families without authorities having been informed.
In 2016, Greece, along with Cyprus, was one of the first two countries to respond when Israel asked allies to send firefighting planes and other equipment and personnel to help fight blazes that burned thousands of acres and damaged hundreds of homes in the north of the country.
Following those fires, Israel said it would form a regional emergency response force together with Greece and Cyprus to tackle future fires.
Greece also sent fire-fighting planes to Israel in 2010 when the Haifa region was ravaged by a massive wildfire that spread across the Carmel Forest, killing 44 people. The fire, the deadliest natural disaster in Israel’s history, led to wide-ranging reforms in the firefighting service.
