Wildfires erupt in south Lebanon as Israel-Hezbollah border clashes escalate

UNIFIL aids Lebanon in dousing wildfires ignited by gunfire near the Lebanese-Israeli border amidst ongoing clashes

BEIRUT:

The United Nations peacekeeping force UNIFIL said on Thursday it was working with Lebanese authorities to extinguish wildfires that have spread for several kilometres in south Lebanon after being started by gunfire along the Lebanese-Israeli border.

Heavily armed Hezbollah, which is part of an Iranian-backed regional alliance, has been engaged in daily exchanges of fire with Israeli forces along the frontier since war broke out between Israel and Hamas on Oct. 7.

More than 40 Hezbollah fighters have been killed in the borderlands so far, while Israel's military says at least seven soldiers have been killed.

Read also: Almost 20,000 displaced in Lebanon as clashes on Israel border escalate

Lebanese civil defence 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 although the fires have affected uninhabited areas so far, they were close to border villages and olive groves.