Thousands flee homes as wildfires kill 2 in Mideast

Areas hit by heat wave are Syria, Lebanon, Israel and the Palestinian territories; ‘dozens of blazes were seen, including ‘45 in Latakia and 33 in Tartus,’ says official

Wildfires around the Middle East triggered by a heatwave hitting the region have killed two people, forced thousands of people to leave their homes and detonated landmines along the Lebanon-Israel border, state media and officials said on Saturday.

The areas hit by the heatwave are Syria, Lebanon, Israel and the Palestinian territories.

The fires come amid an intense heatwave that is unusual for this time of the year.

Wildfires spread across different areas of Israel and the West Bank for a second day on Saturday forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes.

Israeli Police said in a statement that firefighters and police forces evacuated 5,000 residents from the city of Nof Hagalil in northern Israel.

On Friday, authorities had reported several fires across northern and central Israel and the occupied West Bank as temperatures soared, forcing thousands to evacuate.

One of the hardest-hit countries is war-torn Syria where fires have killed two people and let dozens suffering from breathing problems over the past two days.

Syrian state television on Saturday morning broadcast scenes from the affected areas, where firefighters were working to extinguish the blazes.