Israeli forces burn over 120 hectares of olive groves in southern Lebanon

According to the Lebanese daily L'Orient-Le Jour, Israeli troops set fire to more than 120 hectares (1,200 dunams) of olive groves and fruit orchards in the border town of Yaroun in the Bint Jbeil district. The blaze burned for more than 36 hours, devastating generations-old olive trees.

Yaroun municipality chairman Hafez Ghacham told the newspaper that residents could do nothing but watch the fire consume the trees as Israeli troops prevented access to the affected areas. "My heart broke at the sight. Together with several residents, we watched the fields burn until we were in tears," Ghacham said. "Houses can be rebuilt, but the old olive trees will take decades to return to how they were before."

Neither residents nor firefighting teams were able to reach the affected areas due to the presence of Israeli troops, allowing the fire to spread unchecked, he added. Ghacham described the destruction as an assault on Yaroun's history, identity, and means of livelihood, noting that the olive groves had been cultivated by generations of local families.

He estimated the destroyed land could have produced thousands of cans of olive oil, with each dunam typically yielding around six cans valued at approximately $150. Ghacham also stressed that the destruction affected the entire community regardless of religion. "The flames made no distinction between the olive groves of Christians and those of Muslims," he said, adding that the devastation concerned "the whole of the South: its land, its people, its culture, its dignity and its history."

The municipality said it plans to submit documentation of the destruction to the United Nations, adding that Israeli forces targeted not only residential areas but also the environment, agricultural land, and cultural heritage in southern Lebanon. According to Mehr News Agency, the report by L'Orient-Le Jour highlighted the extensive damage and the community's helplessness in the face of the ongoing conflict.