Firefighters in Turkiye battle to contain wildfires for second day

Firefighters in Turkiye battle to contain wildfires for second day
This aerial photograph shows a forest area partially burnt and with smoke emanating from wildfires in Turkey's western province of Izmir on August 17, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 30 June 2025

Firefighters in Turkiye battle to contain wildfires for second day

Firefighters in Turkiye battle to contain wildfires for second day
  • Helicopters, fire extinguishing aircrafts and other vehicles, and more than a thousand people were trying to extinguish the fires

ISTANBUL: Firefighters in Turkiye are battling wildfires for a second day raging in the western province of Izmir fanned by strong winds, the forestry minister and local media said on Monday
Wildfires in Kuyucak and Doganbey areas of Izmir were fanned overnight by winds reaching 40-50 kph (25-30 mph) and four villages and two neighborhoods had been evacuated, Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli said.
Helicopters, fire extinguishing aircrafts and other vehicles, and more than a thousand people were trying to extinguish the fires, Yumakli told reporters in Izmir.
Media footage showed teams using tractors with water trailers and helicopters carrying water, as smoke billowed over hills marked with charred trees.
Turkiye’s coastal regions have in recent years been ravaged by wildfires, as summers have become hotter and drier, which scientists relate to climate change.


Hamas armed wing says to hand over Gaza hostage body at 1900 GMT

Hamas armed wing says to hand over Gaza hostage body at 1900 GMT
Updated 2 sec ago

Hamas armed wing says to hand over Gaza hostage body at 1900 GMT

Hamas armed wing says to hand over Gaza hostage body at 1900 GMT
GAZA CITY: Hamas’s armed wing said it would hand over the remains of another hostage on Wednesday as required under the US-brokered ceasefire deal with Israel in Gaza.
The Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades “will hand over the body of an Israeli prisoner found in the Shujaiya neighborhood, east of Gaza City, at 9 PM Gaza time” (1900 GMT), the group said on its Telegram channel.
Of the 28 deceased hostages Hamas agreed to hand over to Israel under the deal, it has so far returned 21 — including 19 Israelis, one Thai national and one Nepali.