Lebanese Civil Defence volunteers extinguish a forest fire that reportedly ignited following Israeli shelling in Alma al-Shaab, close to south Lebanon's border with Israel, on Oct. 26, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. (Credit: AFP)
The severe fire that broke out Thursday near the southern Lebanese village of Alma al-Shaab after overnight Israeli airstrikes is still burning, a spokesperson for the Civil Defense told L'Orient Today.
Though the Civil Defense managed to extinguish the part of the blaze that was approaching the village, the flames are still severe on the village outskirts. The spokesperson said Israel is intentionally preventing Civil Defense teams from extinguishing the remaining flames.
"With our clear firefighter trucks, if we get bombarded every time we approach the outskirts, what does this tell you?" the spokesperson asked.
UN peacekeeping force UNIFIL said Thursday it was working with Lebanese authorities to extinguish wildfires that spread several kilometers in South Lebanon after they were started by gunfire along the Lebanese-Israeli border, Reuters reported.
Lebanese Civil Defense fire brigades have been working on extinguishing the fire, UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told Reuters, adding that strong winds and a heat wave, along with minefields, increased the risk of the fires spreading.
"These fires are also occurring in minefields, which makes them more complicated to extinguish," Tenenti said, adding that the fires have thus far only affected uninhabited areas but were close to border villages and olive groves.
Soldiers and volunteers were attempting to control a severe fire caused by overnight Israeli airstrikes in a border village in southern Lebanon, according to local officials who spoke to AFP.
"The fire reached the outskirts of Alma al-Shaab after midnight and is approaching the houses," said village mayor Jean Ghafari.
He mentioned that the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), the Lebanese Army and the Civil Defense, along with volunteers, are working to control the flames, hours after the fire broke out in a wooded area between Alma al-Shaab and the nearby town of Naqoura.
An AFP photographer witnessed the flames surrounding several houses in the village after devastating the surrounding olive groves.
The Israeli army stated that it had "neutralized five Hezbollah terrorist cells attempting to fire" at Israel in the past 24 hours, and announced airstrikes on Wednesday evening against targets in southern Lebanon in retaliation for the launch of a surface-to-air missile.
According to the village's mayor, around 70 percent of Alma al-Shaab's residents have left the village since the clashes at the Israel-Lebanon border began.
Naqoura resident Abbas Awada accused the Israeli army of "dropping phosphorus bombs in the middle of the night, which caused the fire" and added that it had spread due to the winds.
On Thursday, the Speaker of the Parliament, Nabih Berri, also denounced "Israel's use of phosphorus bombs" against Lebanon, while Israel has repeatedly denied accusations of using phosphorus bombs.
Since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, daily clashes have been taking place between Hezbollah and its allies and Israeli forces on the southern Lebanon border.
These violent incidents have resulted in 57 deaths on the Lebanese side: four civilians, 44 Hezbollah fighters, who announced the deaths of two of their militants on Thursday, and nine members of allied organizations, according to AFP's tally.
Four people have been killed on the Israeli side.
Phosphorus bombs are incendiary weapons whose use is prohibited against civilians but not against military targets, according to a convention signed in 1980 in Geneva.
On Oct. 12, Human Rights Watch estimated that "Israel's use of white phosphorus munitions during its military operations in Gaza and Lebanon exposes civilians to serious and long-term risks of injury."
The unprecedented attack by Hamas has resulted in more than 1,400 deaths in Israel since Oct. 7, most of them civilians, according to authorities. Israeli military retaliation in the Gaza Strip has claimed the lives of more than 7,000 people in Gaza, the majority of whom are civilians, according to Hamas.