International firefighting crews and equipment are arriving in Israel to help the country battle the most devastating blaze in its history. The inferno has claimed at least 41 lives so far.
The fire in the northern Carmel Region broke out around noon on Thursday.
Most of those killed had been aboard a bus trying to evacuate people from the blaze site. Dozens more were injured, and hundreds of people were moved out by helicopters and trucks. The raging inferno that engulfed the hills of Mount Carmel is still burning.
Israel's Prime Minister flew over the scene of the fire, and called a special Friday morning Cabinet meeting to assess the situation, and make decisions if necessary.
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister, said, "We don't want any more injuries, any more dead. We suffered a hard blow, and we don't want any more dead, not even one. That's our mission, and that's why we will focus on evacuating, possibly in wide range."
Firefighting crews and equipment from around the world have begun arriving to help the country battle the devastating blaze.
Israeli firefighters say it's the biggest such inferno in the country's history, with some 2,800 hectares of land destroyed.
Investigators speculate that the blaze could have been sparked accidentally, or it might have been set deliberately. But they largely rule out any sort of extremist attack.