TEL AVIV (Dispatches) -- Firefighters battled to control a massive blaze after a number of buildings containing hazardous materials caught fire overnight Saturday in an industrial and logistics complex in Haifa.
Explosions were heard, apparently as the flames detonated the contents of the building, the Times of Israel reported. Video posted to social media showed flames engulfing the structures.
It was unclear what had been stored in the buildings, with some of the explosions appearing to produce light-colored flames, Israeli media reports said.
Firefighters were working to prevent the flames from spreading to nearby structures.
Haifa is a key location for industry, with a number of plants and processing centers linked to the oil and chemical industries.
Residents and activists have long called for steps to be taken to combat the significant air pollution and above-average incidences of cancer and respiratory diseases they suffer.
In addition, there have been concerns for years of a potential disaster if a rocket fired by Hezbollah were to hit a chemical facility. The Lebanon-based resistance group has in the past threatened to target chemical processing sites in any future conflict with the occupying regime of Israel.
The latest incident came in the wake of a series of mysterious fires and explosions which have hit the occupied territories in recent weeks.
It came a week after two buses were burned down in an open parking lot in the Israeli-occupied territories.
The incident took place on Golda Meir Street in Rishon Lezion city, eight kilometers south of Tel Aviv, in the early hours of June 19.
Back on June 11, eighteen buses were destroyed when they were torched in the early hours of the day in the northern city of Safed.