Fire in the town of Maghdousheh on 23 August 204. (Courtesy of Muntasser Abdallah/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — A large fire broke out in the forests surrounding Maghdousheh town, south of Saida in southern Lebanon, "due to weather conditions and high temperatures," L'Orient Today's correspondent in the south reported.
"The fire has approached homes near the western entrance of the town," according to our correspondent who noted that "more than ten fire trucks are currently involved in extinguishing the fire, which has spread due to the wind."
Wildfires are a recurring issue in Lebanon, especially during the hot, dry summer months.
"The main fire igniter in southern Lebanon today is white phosphorus, the use of which has been continuous by the Israeli army," Hasan Fakih, head of the Nabatieh civil defense center, had told L'Orient Today at the end of May.
Around 4:30 p.m., Civil Defense announced that the fire in Maghdousheh and Ghazieh had been brought under control. According to their statement, the blaze had devastated large areas of grass and trees between the two villages.
Since the start of hostilities in October, wildfires have been commonplace. In October, white phosphorus munitions used by the Israeli army along Lebanon's southern border caused 134 forest fires and injured more than 100 civilians, according to a policy brief by the American University of Beirut (AUB).
Reporting contributed by Muntasser Abdallah