Toddler killed, 7 others hurt in Safed apartment building fire

A three-year-old boy was killed and at least seven others were hurt Saturday in a fire that broke out in a residential building in the northern city of Safed.

The three-year-old was initially treated in critical condition but succumbed to his wounds. Another child suffered burns and several adults were hurt from smoke inhalation.

The injured were rushed to a local hospital. Firefighters and police were investigating the cause of the blaze.

The building fire came following a rash of forest fires across the country over the past three days amid a heatwave. As of Saturday morning, nearly all of the hundreds of fires that plagued Israel in recent days were under control.

Fueled by the scorching weather, hundreds of fires devastated towns and forests, forcing thousands of people out of their homes on Thursday and Friday. Authorities investigating the fires were looking at electrical faults, Lag B’Omer holiday bonfires, arson and incendiary balloons from the Gaza Strip as possible causes.