Jewish and Arab young men enjoy swimming in a mountain spring outside of Jerusalem, on a hot day, May 27, 2015. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90) (JTA) — A record-breaking heat wave in Israel has sparked forest fires, caused flight delays and prompted a sharp increase in reported cases of dehydration and fainting. Temperatures reached 102 degrees in Tel Aviv, 104 in Haifa and 98 in Jerusalem on Wednesday. A forest fire broke out near the Jerusalem suburb of Beit Shemesh, requiring the involvement of at least 20 firefighting teams and four aircraft, according to Ynet. A blaze in the central Israeli town of Tel Mond destroyed homes, and a conflagration near the village of Mabuim in southern Israel forced some residents to evacuate. The heat wave is expected to break on Thursday, with seasonal averages returning and a further cool-down over the weekend. The forecast high for Tel Aviv on Saturday is 76 degrees.   Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text RSS Feed