JERUSALEM

Fires have broken out in forest areas near Israel’s border with Lebanon, authorities said on Friday.

People were being evacuated from the Kafr Qara and Arara villages in the Wadi Ara area, according to an Israeli police statement.

The blaze reached up to some houses in the northern city of Nof Hagalil, with two people barely escaping smoke poisoning, Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation KAN reported.

According to local media reports, the fires were caused by high temperatures in the region.

* Writing by Zehra Nur Duz