​​​​​​JERUSALEM/ISTANBUL

Israel witnessed sandstorms on Wednesday that severely reduced visibility in parts of the south, coinciding with strong winds that intensified wildfires raging in the middle of the country.

Media outlets aired video clips showing a powerful sandstorm sweeping through Beersheba in the Negev Desert in southern Israel.

The footage showed the desert city gradually engulfed by a massive dust cloud.

Channel 12 aired video of soldiers struggling to close the gates of a military base as the sandstorm hit.

“This is what Shivta Base (in the Negev) looked like this evening amid an unusual sandstorm,” it said. It noted that soldiers had difficulty shutting the doors because of the strength of the wind.

Firefighting teams, meanwhile, continued to try to control wildfires spreading across towns between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, driven by strong winds.

Jerusalem District Fire and Rescue Commander Shmulik Friedman said the wildfires may be “the largest in Israel’s history,” Israeli Army Radio reported.

Defense Minister Israel Katz declared a nationwide state of emergency earlier in the day and ordered the army to assist firefighters in the Jerusalem Hills region.

Channel 12 said Israel canceled all scheduled “Independence Day” celebrations due to the massive wildfires.

“Independence Day,” marking the 1948 establishment of Israel, coincides with Palestinian commemorations of the Nakba -- the mass displacement of Palestinians during that period when Zionist gangs carried out massacres against civilians.​​​​​​​

Israeli rescue authorities evacuated residents from several towns in central Israel last week amid widespread wildfires triggered by soaring temperatures and strong winds, which destroyed 10,000 dunums (2,500 acres) and injured nine people.​​​​​​​