In the fight against a forest fire west of Jerusalem, eight firefighting planes and a helicopter resumed their operations on Tuesday.

This is happening just as emergency services are unable to get the devastating forest fires in Russia under control.

According to the fire brigade, residents of three villages in Jerusalem have not yet been allowed to return to their homes.

Israel said on Monday that it had asked several countries for help in fighting the fire.

Greece has promised support, foreign minister Yair Lapid announced on Twitter.

According to the police, thousands of people had to leave their homes after the forest fire broke out on Sunday.

The army supported the evacuation measures with helicopters.

According to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, several houses in different villages had gone up in flames.

As reported by the Times of Israel, about 2,000 hectares of forest have been burned in the meantime.

According to a report by the army radio station, the police assume that the fire was caused by people.

However, it is not necessarily arson but could also have been caused by carelessness.

The Environmental Protection and Health Ministries warned on Monday of “very high levels of air pollution” in several places near Jerusalem.

Among other things, children and pregnant women were urged not to stay outdoors if possible.

In Russia, data from the Forest Protection Agency on Tuesday showed that the fires were continuing to spread, with 238 fires across the country covering a total area of 4.6 million hectares.

The most severely affected area is still the constituent republic of Yakutia in eastern Siberia, more than 4,000 kilometres from Moscow.

According to the authorities, an area of 4.4 million hectares is currently burning there alone. More than 4,200 helpers are currently working there.

For days, the emergency forces have been trying to prevent the flames from spreading to several villages in the sparsely populated region.

The Civil Defence Ministry sent another firefighting aircraft to the region, which has been suffering for weeks from smoke that is harmful to health.

Meanwhile, the Yakutsk authorities have posthumously honoured a 43-year-old man who died in the fire area for reasons still unknown.

According to local media, the employee of a road construction company had created a firebreak with a bulldozer.

His body was found in a forest.

Most recently, President Vladimir Putin had called for more efforts in firefighting efforts.

He said at an emergency meeting that the damage to the taiga, which is important for the world’s climate, and to other forests must be minimised.