A 45-year-old woman was critically injured in a fire that broke out early Sunday morning in a residential apartment in the community of Kochav Yaakov in the Binyamin region.

Two other people were moderately injured, including an eight-year-old boy with 30% second-degree burns on his lower body, and a 48-year-old man who inhaled smoke.

16 other people were lightly injured, including four young people and 12 minors between the ages of 1 and 17.

Magen David Adom paramedics evacuated the victims to Hadassah Ein Kerem and Shaare Zedek hospitals in Jerusalem.

Avi Zarog, an MDA paramedic who lives in the community and who arrived first on the scene, said, "I arrived at the scene very quickly and saw thick smoke coming from the first floor of a two-story private house. Outside the house there was a commotion and I saw children and teens being rescued from the house by their parents. Most of them suffered from smoke inhalation and two also suffered from burns to their bodies; they rescued the children one after the other."

"At a certain point, the woman did not come out of the house again. After a few minutes they rescued her unconscious, after she inhaled a lot of smoke. She was evacuated in critical condition while undergoing CPR operations. A man and a boy about eight years of age suffered from burns and smoke inhalation and were evacuated in moderate condition. All the rest, including those who came to assist, were evacuated in light condition after inhaling smoke. The parents saved all the children. It’s a very serious event that ended in a major disaster."