Lebanese rescuers accuse Israel of deliberately setting wildfires

Lebanese firefighters, residents and environmental groups have accused Israeli forces of repeatedly igniting wildfires across southern Lebanon since a June 17 conditional ceasefire, the Palestine Chronicle reported on Aug. 12.

The report, citing The Guardian, said Israeli drones, flares and other munitions had triggered fires that burned forests, farmland and centuries-old olive groves. Environmental groups described the destruction as “ecocide.”

Hussein Fakih, head of civil defense in the Nabatieh region, told The Guardian that Israeli forces dropped flares on Tuesday over a wooded area outside Khiam, setting vegetation alight. He said firefighters withdrew after an Israeli drone struck nearby as they approached the blaze.

“Most of our missions are now related to fires,” Fakih told The Guardian. He said that in areas close to the frontline, “around 30-40% of the land has been affected by fires,” and said the pattern began shortly after the ceasefire, with drones, white phosphorus shells and daytime illumination flares setting vegetation on fire.

Samir Hardan, a local civil defense station chief, told The Guardian that a drone dropped a munition into forested land near Kfarchouba on Friday afternoon, starting a fire crews battled through the night. The Palestine Chronicle said similar fires were reported near Kfarchouba and between Jezzine and the western Bekaa Valley, while firefighters’ movements required coordination through the Lebanese Army and a deconfliction mechanism involving Israeli forces; the Israeli military did not respond to The Guardian’s requests for comment on the individual wildfire incidents.