Thousands of cranes killed by bird flu in northern Israel

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli authorities say bird flu has killed thousands of migratory cranes and forced farms to kill over 500,000 chickens to contain the outbreak. At least 5,200 cranes, some of the half-million that migrate through Israel on their way to Africa, lie dead in the Hula Valley and officials are struggling to clean up the site. Environmental Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg called the crisis “the most serious damage to wildlife in the history of the country.” She tweeted that the extent of the damage is still unclear.