Lebanon accuses Israel of deliberately burning forests and farmland

Lebanon accuses Israel of deliberately burning forests and farmland. The accusations come as the summer of 2026 saw a surge in wildfires around the world due to intense heat. According to Arab News, Lebanese officials and residents have accused the Israeli military of systematically burning forests and farmland in the south of the country.

Haydar Qoteish, 36, a resident of the village of Shaqra, said fields and gardens in the village of Houla, just 5 kilometers away but under Israeli military control, had also been set ablaze. “They burned everything. The fields are completely black,” the father of four told AFP by phone. “They bulldozed the land that wasn’t burned. It’s a huge loss, we can’t do anything about it.”

According to the Lebanese National Council for Scientific Research (CNRS), since the start of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah in October 2023, 160 square kilometers of land have been burned by Israeli military action. Half of this is agricultural land. The latest phase of the conflict erupted in March. Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, attacked Israel, drawing Lebanon into the Middle East conflict. This led to massive Israeli air strikes and a ground operation.

An AFP photographer reported seeing numerous fires in southern Lebanon in August. The fires were mostly in a 10-kilometer “security zone” that Israel has established inside Lebanese territory along the border.

**“Scorched Earth” Policy**

Despite a slight lull in fighting since June and an Israeli-Lebanese agreement, Israel is still bombing the south and destroying villages along the border. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salem has accused Israel of pursuing a “scorched earth” policy in the south.

The Israeli army told AFP in Jerusalem that it was aware of the potential environmental impact of its operations and was taking precautions to minimize damage to civilians and the environment.

Hussein Faqih, head of the Nabataean Civil Defense Agency, said his teams had been observing fires in and around areas where Israeli forces were stationed since July. He told AFP that the fires were caused by Israeli bombs and drones, and sometimes by phosphorus and cluster munitions.

According to Qassim al-Qadri, the mayor of Kfarshuba, a village adjacent to the Israeli “security zone,” the fire broke out in August and spread to a large area of mostly forested land. “The residents tried to put out the fire themselves while they were waiting for the Israeli army to give them permission to enter the area,” said Faqih, a civil defense spokesman. “They only got permission the next day, when the fire had already burned everything.”

The residents of Kfarshuba, whose land is close to the Israeli military base, are afraid to take fire prevention measures, such as clearing the forests, the mayor said. “They talk about a ‘security zone,’ but we don’t know its exact boundaries. We believe the entire area is under Israeli control,” Qadri added.

**“Ecocide” (Environmental Genocide)**

Minister of Civil Protection and Environment Tamara Elzein condemned the situation in the south as “ecocide.” She accused the Israeli army of “deliberately” burning Lebanese land.

Shadi Abdullah, director of the National Council for Scientific Research, told AFP that during the 2023-2024 campaign, “the fires were limited to the border line,” but that they had expanded this year as the conflict flared up again. He accused the Israeli army of systematically burning land and trying to create a buffer zone, free of homes, people and nature. “During the last war, 8,500 hectares (85 square kilometers) of land burned. This year, the Israelis have burned more than 7,500 hectares,” Abdullah said.

350 hectares of land have also been burned since the June agreement. Satellite images taken by the National Council for Scientific Research showed areas that were once green but have been lost to fires and Israeli bulldozers.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported in August that Israeli forces had uprooted 600 native olive trees in the southern village alone. The Lebanese environmental group Green Southerners said it had recorded extensive damage to forests, groves and farmland since 2023. Earlier, it was reported that Lebanon had begun deploying its army in areas liberated from Israeli occupation.