Lebanon Battles Fires in the South Amid Ongoing Exchanges of Fire Between Israel and Hezbollah
(AWP) - The Lebanese Civil Defence is fighting fires raging along the country’s borders with Israel with the help of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
Residents of areas witnessing the exchange of fire between Israel and Hezbollah over the past 20 days in southern Lebanon say that an Israeli strike using phosphorus bombs triggered the fires on Wednesday evening and continued blazing into Thursday.
Local organisations, some of whom are affiliated with Hezbollah, participated in fire extinguishing efforts. Lebanese army helicopters could not be deployed on the scene due to the security risks associated with the continuous Israeli bombardment.
Head of the Civil Defence Centre in the southern city of Tyre, Ali Safi al-Din, said that between eight and nine Civil Defence fire engines are combatting the fires. He said, "Αs you can see, the fire is very large and we need vehicles. We also spoke with the army command to secure planes."
Southern Lebanon and northern Israel have been living under mutual bombardment since October 8.