The Escalating Fire War: Israel-Hezbollah Confrontation Ignites Northern Borderlands

A report by Yara Dergham, English adaptation by Nadine Sassine 

The Israeli-Lebanese border is greener on the Israeli side, particularly in the Galilee region. These areas are rich with nature reserves, forests, fruit trees, and vegetables. The land is fertile, and water is abundantly available. On the Lebanese side, the land is also fertile but less green.

From Sunday night until Tuesday, fires have been ravaging northern Israel as a result of rockets and drones launched by Hezbollah, to the extent that "Israel is burning" became a trending topic on social media. 
The fires broke out in Kiryat Shmona, reached Safed, areas in the Golan Heights, and other regions. According to Israeli newspapers, approximately 10,000 dunams of land have been burned so far, with injuries reported during firefighting efforts. The situation has been exacerbated by climate factors, with temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius.

The burning of thousands of dunams inside Israel carries political, security, and economic implications. The Galilee region is a reservoir of agricultural and food industries, and the sight of it burning is reminiscent of the burning lands in the south, rich with the bounty of olive trees and other fruitful and forested trees.

Since the "al-Aqsa Flood" war, Israel has aimed to turn the border area into scorched earth to expose Hezbollah positions and movements. They used phosphorus bombs, burning both green and dry areas, affecting nature reserves. The latest significant fire occurred on Al-Owaida Hill in Adaisseh, consuming vast areas of olive trees.

According to statistics from the Scientific Research Institute of the National Council for Scientific Research, fires have so far consumed (...) of agricultural land in the south and burned (...) trees, including ancient trees, particularly olive and oak. Following rockets and drones, the fire war is now imposing a new dynamic in the confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah.