Netanyahu thanks 'friend' Sisi for firefighting helicopters as Israel battles extreme wildfires

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Friday thanked Egypt's president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi after his country sent two helicopters to help tackle raging wildfires.

Around 40 homes have been destroyed in Israel as fires sweep across the country, with temperatures topping 40 degrees for several days.

"Aid has arrived from Greece, Croatia, Italy, Egypt and Cyprus and we very much appreciate it. I would like to thank my friend the Egyptian president, Sisi, for sending two helicopters," Netanyahu said.

The Palestinian Authority has also reportedly offered aid to help Israel.

In 2016, wildfires damaged or destroyed around 700 homes in Israel and the occupied West Bank, and sent more than 13,000 hectares of woodland up in smoke.

Egypt is one of two Arab countries to have signed a peace treaty with Israel.