Hundreds evacuated near Jerusalem amidst massive wildfire

Dozens of firefighting teams struggled on Sunday to gain control of a massive wildfire near Jerusalem, officials confirmed to Xinhua.

The fire broke near the community of Even Sapir on the outskirts of Jerusalem at noon, and spread towards Jerusalem. "More than 40 teams and eight aircrafts are at the scene," a spokesperson for the fire service told Xinhua.

The police have evacuated some 700 residents of Even Sapir, after several homes caught on fire. Highway 1, the main road between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, was briefly closed.

In the afternoon, two parking lots near the Hadassah Eyn Karem Medical Center were also evacuated, but police said no danger was posed to the hospital itself.

Police said the blaze was apparently a result of negligence.

Last month saw Israel's largest fire since the 2010 "Carmel disaster," in which 44 people perished.

The fire was extinguished near Beit Shemesh, a few miles away from the current fire, after more than 150 firefighters struggled to contain it for over a day. Endit