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More than 15,000 people have been evacuated from their homes as wild fires spread across northern Israel, leaving at least 42 dead.
Aircraft and firefighters from around the world are being deployed after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pleaded for help to battle his country's worst-ever forest blaze.
Planes have been seen flying through smoke-choked skies over Haifa, dropping water and chemicals over flames which have spread to the city's outskirts from Israel's National Park in Galilee.
"This is a disaster of unprecedented proportions," Mr Netanyahu said.
Many of those who died were prison guards who got trapped in a bus in the Carmel Mountains, near Haifa.
They had been heading toward a prison holding mostly Palestinians when a tree fell across the road, blocking their path. With no way out, many of them were burned alive as the vehicle was consumed.
Other passengers were killed while trying to flee the flames fed by brush left tinder-dry by lack of rain. When the smoke cleared, at least 36 were dead.
The blaze, which has scorched thousands of acres of land, threatens to cause irreparable harm to one of Israel's few forested areas.
Israel, which has faced criticism for its lack of readiness for the disaster, has issued a rare call for international assistance.
There are only 1,500 firefighters in the country - which is widely seen as inadequate for a country of more than 7.5 million.
Britain has sent two helicopters as assistance and Foreign Secretary William Hague has expressed condolences to the families of the victims and to those forced to leave their homes.
Despite months of tension with Israel, Turkey was one of the first nations to offer aid.
There are a total of 20 firefighting aircraft in the area, said Sky News' Middle East correspondent Dominic Waghorn in Haifa.
He said: "The wind has died down but the big concern is that if it picks up again, and it turns north, the southern neighbourhoods of Haifa are in danger."
Greece, Spain and Cyprus have also sent aircraft. Additional aid was coming from Russia, Egypt, Azerbaijan, Romania, Jordan, France and Bulgaria.
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told Israel Radio: "The Russians are sending and we are waiting for the biggest firefighting plane in the world... an Antonov with huge firefighting capacity.
"Most of the planes will arrive by lunchtime. It is very difficult for the fire appliances to fight the flames, I hope that we will be able to control the flames by tomorrow (Saturday) evening."
US president Barack Obama has offered condolences to bereaved families and said American firefighters were ready to help - a gesture echoed by Australia.
The cause of the fire has not been confirmed, but reports in some Israeli newspapers speculate that it might have been started deliberately. One suggested it might prove to be the "worst terror attack" in Israel's history.
The fire, which broke out at 10am UK time on Thursday, comes after a long spell without rain and one of the driest Novembers on record.
SKYNEWS
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