Israeli strikes have destroyed 800 hectares of farmland in Lebanon
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Lebanese Minister of Agriculture Abbas Hajj Hassan said it was "impossible" to determine the exact damage in numbers since Israeli strikes have continued daily.
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Smoke rises from Israeli artillery shelling on the outskirts of Yaroun, a Lebanese border village, in south Lebanon, Sunday, Dec. 10, 2023 (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
The Lebanese Agriculture minister has revealed that nearly 800 hectares of agricultural land have been destroyed by the Israeli occupation.
Minister Abbas Hajj Hassan told Sputnik that the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) destroyed "8,000 dunams [800 hectares] of agricultural land and completely burned more than 2,000 dunams in southern Lebanon," adding that further damage is being recorded daily.
Israeli strikes have damaged over 50,000 olive trees, some of which are 300 years old, according to the minister, who also stated that thousands of livestock, including sheep, goats, and cows, had been killed as well.
He called it "impossible" to determine the exact damage in numbers since the strikes have continued daily.
Israeli occupation forces launched a number of attacks on border towns in Lebanon, as well as al-Bazourieh, located 18 km from the line of Israeli withdrawal.
Following the attack on the town, Hezbollah mourned its fighter martyr Ali Mohammad Hodruj, "Abbas", on the path to al-Quds.
Hezbollah has launched hundreds of operations in support of Gaza since October 8, marking the faction's steadfast support to the Palestinian people and their cause. The Resistance's rockets, missiles, and drones plummeted Israeli occupation forces' military sites across the border, forcing the Israeli military to set up temporary positions in woodlands and the vicinities of the sites.
The Israeli occupation is considering launching an attack on Lebanon in the following two weeks in case a political agreement is not reached regarding Hezbollah's presence near the Lebanon-Palestine border, The Washington Post reported on Saturday citing sources.
Since the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon launched its operations last October in support of Gaza after the Al-Aqsa Flood operation, almost a quarter-million Israeli settlers evacuated northern occupied Palestine fearing Hezbollah's attacks, and a repeat of a scenario similar to that in the Gaza envelope on October 7.
Citing Western and Lebanese officials, the newspaper reported that Israelis informed Washington last December that it would have "no other option" but to carry out a military aggression against Lebanon if a diplomatic agreement is not reached that would allow the entity's settlers to return to the North.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Security Minister Yoav Gallant, and Army Chief Herzi Halevi had all similar announcements in the past month.
