The majority of cities across Israel have canceled their Yom Ha’atzmaut ceremonies scheduled for Wednesday evening as the wildfires that broke out earlier in the day continue to spread amid powerful winds and hot and dry weather conditions.

Fires have started spreading toward southern Israel.

The government announced on Wednesday morning [before the fire spread] that the main ceremony at Har Herzl was canceled due to the dangerous weather conditions.

Israel’s Fire and Rescue Services said that they will not have the resources to protect any ceremonies.

As of 4 p.m., after a situational assessment held by the chairman of the Local Government, Chaim Bibas, following numerous warnings about the extreme weather conditions and the raging fire in the Jerusalem Hills area and Highway 1, it was decided that each authority will make a decision regarding Yom Ha’atzmaut ceremonies according to the expected forecasts in its area, the recommendation of the authority’s safety advisor, and the instructions of the security and emergency bodies.

The Center for Local Government issued a recommendation to the authorities to postpone the celebrations to tomorrow evening. “The decision was made with the intention of maintaining public safety and allowing the security and rescue forces to concentrate their efforts around the emergency events.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)