Jerusalem:
Israel was still struggling on Friday to control a fire raging in a rain-starved forest in northern Israel that has left at least 41 people dead, caused the evacuation of thousands of residents, destroyed some kibbutz houses and prompted the government to call for urgent international aid in fighting the blaze.
A spokesman for the fire service in the area, Hezi Levy, said the fire, which broke out on Thursday morning, was the biggest and deadliest in Israel's history.
The scale of the crisis forced Israel, which prides itself on being one of the world's most nimble and generous countries in disaster relief, into the unusual position of petitioner. Early on Friday, a plane from Greece carrying personnel and equipment and a Bulgarian plane with about 100 firefighters landed at an air force base in the north of the country.
Turkey, whose relations with Israel have been under extraordinary strain recently, rapidly sent two firefighting helicopters, Turkish officials said. Other assistance was expected from the United States, Cyprus, Spain, Azerbaijan, Britain, Egypt, Jordan, Romania and Russia.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who traveled to the north on Thursday night, described the disaster as "unprecedented" and said that Israel had "suffered a harsh blow."
Mr. Netanyahu called a cabinet meeting on Friday morning as Israelis began to question why Israel, which is prone to brush fires, was apparently so unequipped to deal with a disaster of this scale.
The 41 fatalities occurred when a bus carrying trainee prison guards near a penitentiary got caught in the flames. Some of the casualties were believed to be members of the Druse community. The penitentiary, Damun, sits in the Carmel hills near the city of Haifa and holds Israelis and Palestinians.
The commander of the Haifa district police, Ahuva Tomer, was critically injured in the fire, and several other members of the security and rescue services were reported injured or missing.
In Kibbutz Beit Oren in the Carmel hills, houses were burned to the ground. Most of the residents were believed to have evacuated ahead of the fire. The University of Haifa was evacuated as a precaution, as was a luxury spa hotel, Yaarot Hacarmel.
Later, residents of several other villages were ordered to evacuate their homes, and the authorities were preparing for the possibility of evacuating some neighborhoods of Haifa.
Officials said the fire started near the Druse village of Usifiya. The cause was not immediately known. It raged through the Carmel Forest, considered one of Israel's most beautiful. The area is known as Little Switzerland.
Israel's president, Shimon Peres, said, "If there is something we can say, it is that those involved in this difficult event are exhibiting true bravery that symbolizes the holiday of Hanukkah." He was referring to the eight-day Jewish festival of lights, which started on Wednesday evening and which Jews celebrate to commemorate the bravery and miracles of the ancient past.
The president's office said in a statement that he had spoken with the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, Salam Fayyad, who "expressed his condolences to the people of Israel on behalf of the Palestinian people."