Lebanon’s caretaker Environment Minister Nasser Yassin said the Israeli army burned more than 1,250 hectares in the south of Lebanon since the start of the year, an area twice as large as all areas burned in 2022 and 2023 combined.
The National News Agency (NNA) quoted Yassin as saying that the Israeli army was carrying out a scorched earth policy, including the use of white phosphorus, to have some form of fire control over the border areas.
A recent video released by the Islamic resistance movement showed Hezbollah fighters launching rockets toward Israel using forest as cover.
The Lebanese minister stated that Israel’s use of white phosphorus was confirmed by three sources: satellite images, soil samples from four sites during a short ceasefire, and reports from human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, which source their information from the UN and other institutions.