Hezbollah Turns Up the Heat

Hezbollah has steadily increased its bombardment of the north of Israel over the last couple of weeks, with yet more intense barrages of rockets launched on Sunday and Monday. Current conditions in Israel are hot and dry because of a heatwave, so the rockets have started wildfires which have swept through large areas of countryside.

The Israel Fire and Rescue Services said more than 30 crews worked to extinguish fires overnight Monday and had most of them under control by early Tuesday morning.

Sunday’s series of attacks caused bushfires that consumed over 2,470 acres of foliage in open areas, including nature reserves, while fires started on Monday consumed nearly 990 acres.

The IDF have helped in the firefighting efforts, and whilst there have not been any major injuries, six reservists and five civilians required treatment for smoke inhalation.

Three other people were lightly hurt during one of the rocket barrages on the Upper Galilee region, as the Iron Dome defence system intercepted multiple projectiles launched from Lebanon.

As well as dozens of rockets, Hezbollah have also launched drones towards Israel, some of which seem harder to shoot down. The city of Akko was targeted twice over the weekend and one of the incoming drones was shot down over the northern coastal city.

The escalation of fighting in the north of Israel is prompting increased concerns that Israel will soon launch an offensive against Hezbollah. And there is mounting criticism among Israel’s politicians about the government’s handling of the situation in the north, with some 70,000 civilians still unable to return to their homes.

This video report from Times Now gives an idea of the intensity of the fires and the scale of the task that faces the firefighters.