Firefighters from the Dimona station rescued four kittens while responding to a fire in a Bedouin town in the Negev, Israel’s Fire and Rescue Authority stated on Wednesday.
The kittens were found suffering from smoke inhalation, and the firefighters attempted resuscitation on several of the kittens in an effort to save their lives.
Footage shared by the IFRA showed firefighters performing compressions on the kittens and using water to cool them down after they were rescued from the building.
No people were injured in the fire, and firefighters worked to control the blaze and extinguish hotspots in and around the building.
Israel is home to over one million stray cats
Various studies have estimated that Israel could have anywhere between one and seven million stray cats, with the number growing exponentially every year, and that it has one of the highest per-capita stray cat populations in the world.
Tel Aviv alone is home to an estimated 39,000 feral cats, about one feral cat for every ten people. The city's main tactic for controlling this population is the Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) program, which aims to reduce cat population growth by neutering and spaying cats.
Every year, the Agriculture Ministry allocates funds to assist municipalities with TNR programs and to cover the hospitalization costs of feral cats as needed.