'Israel' on fire: Hezbollah strikes set nearly 200,000 dunams ablaze
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An Israeli authority says burned land in the north of occupied Palestine has increased by more than 200% since the beginning of the year compared to previous fires.
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Firefighters work to extinguish a fire following an attack from the Lebanese Hezbollah group, in an area in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Thursday, July 4, 2024. (AP)
Forest resources in northern occupied Palestine saw unprecedented and extensive damage as a result of Hezbollah’s attacks since the Lebanese Resistance group commenced on October 8, 2023, its military operations against Israeli targets in support of Gaza and its Resistance.
The Israeli newspaper Maariv highlighted that the operations resulted in the burning of more than 189,000 dunams of land in northern occupied Palestine, affecting forests, woodlands, grassy areas, and agricultural lands.
The area of burned land in the north of occupied Palestine has increased by more than 200% since the beginning of the year compared to previous fires, surpassing the damage caused in the 2006 July War and the Carmel fire in 2010, according to data from the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.
An Israeli environmental scientist working with the authority told Maariv that "Israel" has never seen such fires before, pointing out that while the area typically experiences fires affecting thousands of dunams annually, nearly 200,000 dunams have burned this year.
According to the Israeli newspaper, most of the damaged area is in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, where grassy vegetation is more prone to ignition. The fires cover approximately 114,000 dunams in the Golan, while about 74,000 dunams burned in the occupied al-Jalil region, including 17,000 dunams of forests.
Major damage was also reported in the Ramim Reserve in the al-Jalil panhandle, where 15,000 dunams burned, as well as 4,053 dunams in the Nahal Dishon Reserve, 3,000 dunams in the Yehudiya Reserve, and 336 dunams in the Banias Reserve.
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