"Wings of Fire"
๐๐ผ๐ถ๐ป๐ย ๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ย ๐ฏ๐ย ๐๐ต๐ฒย ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ถ๐บ๐ฒย ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ'๐ย ๐ข๐ณ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ,ย ๐๐ต๐ฒย ๐ก๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐นย ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ย ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐๐๐ฟ๐,ย ๐๐ต๐ฒย ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐๐๐ฟ๐ย ๐ผ๐ณย ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ด๐ปย ๐๐ณ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฟ๐,ย ๐๐ต๐ฒย ๐๐ฒ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฒย ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐๐๐ฟ๐ย ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑย ๐๐ต๐ฒย ๐๐๐:ย ๐ข๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป "๐ช๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ย ๐ผ๐ณย ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ" -ย ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฒ๐น๐ถย ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐ฒ๐ณย ๐ ๐ถ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ปย ๐๐ผย ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฟ๐๐
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received a personal request from Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides for immediate assistance โ led by the National Security Ministry โ in extinguishing wildfires.
An aid mission to Cyprus will leave in the next few minutes, on instruction from Prime Minister Netanyahu and with the approval of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Minister of Foreign Affairs Eli Cohen.
Operation Wings of Fire crews and firefighting aircraft, led by the National Security Ministry, under the command of the Israel Police Air Division, and in cooperation with the Israel Fire and Rescue Authority and the IDF, will today (Monday, 7 August 2023), take off to assist the Republic of Cyprus in extinguishing huge wildfires in Limassol. This is pursuant to a request by the Republic of Cyprus for emergency assistance, based on the strong bilateral partnership.
The crews and the equipment will be transported by the IDF Shimshon aircraft in the framework of the firefighting operation. The aircraft will assist in extinguishing the huge fires that are raging in the Republic of Cyprus due to the extreme weather, which includes a heat wave, strong winds and high temperatures.
The mission, under the command of Snir Shafir, includes two 'Air-Tractor' firefighting aircraft, a crew of four pilots, a trained ground crew, wildfire experts, and equipment including approximately six tons of Israel Fire and Rescue Service flame retardants. The aircraft and the crews are due to depart this afternoon and join the ongoing firefighting operation, barring any change in the situation.
It should be noted that approximately two weeks ago, a mission returned from Operation Firebirds, in which Israel assisted Greece in extinguishing huge wildfires in several regions.
The rapid deployment of the Israeli mission to Cyprus was made possible by the cooperation of all agencies taking part in the assistance operation: The National Security Council in the Prime Minister's Office, the National Security Ministry, the Israel Fire and Rescue Authority, the Israel Police Air Division โ which operates the Elbit firefighting aircraft, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Population and Immigration Authority, the National Emergency Management Authority, the Defense Ministry, Israeli Ambassador to Cyprus Oren Anolik and the Israeli Embassy in Cyprus.