1 Million Locusts Swarm Into Israel
Image by getty images
A swarm of 1 million locusts crossed into Israel from Egypt.
The locusts on Tuesday remained concentrated in areas of southern Israel near the border, but sightings were reported throughout the country, including Tel Aviv and the Carmel region of northern Israel.
Residents of the Ramat HaNegev Regional Council, where the first locusts were seen on Monday, have sealed their homes against the thousands of locusts in their area, according to reports.
Aerial and ground pesticides are expected to be sprayed late Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. No more swarms are expected to cross the border due to a shift in the wind direction.
A black cloud of more than 30 million locusts – some estimates ranged as high as 120 million – swarmed over parts of Egypt beginning on Saturday, causing millions of dollars worth of damage, according to Egyptian Agricultural Minister Salah Abad Almoman.
The locust attack comes some three weeks before the start of Passover, which recalls a destructive plague of locusts that the Bible says was sent by God to free the Jewish slaves.
A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.
If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
