Israel sends firefighters to aid Brazil battling Amazon fires

JERUSALEM - Israel said on Tuesday it was dispatching a team of firefighters to help Brazil with fighting the rampant fires in the Amazon rainforest.

The team is comprised of eleven experts in the fields of rescue, intelligence, and forest fires, the Israeli foreign ministry said in a statement.

It will provide "assistance and professional know-how to the Brazilian authorities, including the Brazilian government, military and firefighting authorities who are combatting the fires," the statement said.

The foreign ministry said the delegation is being dispatched following a phone talk between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.

Israel and Brazil have seen strengthening ties since Netanyahu arrived last December in Brazil ahead of Bolsonaro's presidential inauguration ceremony.

Later, Bolsonaro paid a visit to Israel in April this year.

The fires have been consuming huge parts of the Amazon rainforest, leading to global calls for Brazil to stop the fires.