The Guardian reported on August 12th that on Tuesday, the Israeli military dropped illumination bombs in a forest area outside the town of Hizmam in southern Lebanon, causing fires. A local official said, "They will also drop white phosphorus bombs and incendiary shells."
The head of the Civil Defense in Nabatiyeh, Houseyin Fakih, said that when firefighters tried to extinguish the fire, an Israeli drone launched an attack nearby, forcing them to evacuate.
Fakih said: “Most of our current tasks are related to fires. There are large areas of forest that have been burned. I don’t have exact figures, but in the areas near the frontline, about 30% to 40% of the land has been affected by the fires.”
According to videos and testimony from emergency responders, over the past two months since the ceasefire agreement took effect on June 17th, the Israeli military have set fires in various areas of southern Lebanon, especially in olive groves and agricultural areas.
The reporter from Weibao asked the Israeli military for comments regarding each fire incident, but received no response.
Fakih revealed the details: 'After the ceasefire, they immediately started doing this. Every day, incendiary bombs were dropped. Small drones flew out and dropped burning materials. White phosphorus bombs were fired at the woodland. In addition, they dropped flares during the day to make the vegetation catch fire.'
People in other regions also described similar situations, where Israeli ammunition and drones caused fires in dry forests. On Friday, Israeli ammunition sparked large wildfires in two dense forests: one near the border at Kafshubba, and another between Jezin and the western part of the Bekaa Valley.
According to Samir Hardan, the head of the regional civil defense station, a drone dropped ammunition in the forest area last Friday afternoon, causing a fire near Kafashuba. ‘Firefighters worked overnight and extinguished the fire on Saturday, but another drone caused a new fire on Sunday,’ he said.
Lebanese environmental organization “Green South People” founder Shehame Younis said, “This is not just a fire or an attack, but a destructive pattern that gradually destroys the ability of ecosystems to function, regenerate, and sustain life. These cascading effects also undermine local livelihoods and people’s ability to return and stay on their own land.”
On August 1st, residents of the border village of Yarun found that their olive groves, orchards, and houses had been set ablaze by Israeli forces who had occupied the area.
Yarun Town Mayor Hafez Ghazem said, “They used bulldozers to level the entire village. Then, they set fires to the trees. At that time, the only remaining area in this region was an ancient olive grove. They started burning there, and the fire quickly spread along the perimeter of the village.”
In the past few months, the residents of Yarun have witnessed nearly 900 houses in the village being leveled by the Israeli military.
Ghazem said, “Most of the trees were inherited from our older generation. Besides their great emotional value, they are also an important source of income for the villagers... The Israeli military is trying to make this land uninhabitable. They are erasing all of our history, all of our culture, all of our memories. Perhaps after some time, this place will look like it has never been inhabited.”
