Hezbollah attacks Israel, causes wildfires

Thursday, June 6, 2024 

Since Monday, rockets and drones launched by the Iranian-backed Islamist group Hezbollah, recognized as a terrorist organization by the United States, have caused large scale wildfires in northern Israel.

The attacks have resulted in the hospitalization of eleven Israeli civilians for inhaling smoke as well as large-scale destruction of forests. The fires are reported to have affected 3,500 acres of land. On Monday, it took firefighters twenty hours to tackle fires near the Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona.

Over the course of the post-October 7 escalation of the Israel-Palestine conflict, Hezbollah has launched a variety of strikes against Israel, using 4,000 rockets and killing multiple soldiers and ten civilians. These attacks and the Israeli response have forced tens of thousands of civilians to be evacuated.

Sources

• Chantal Da Silva and Abigail Williams. "Gunman attacks U.S. Embassy in Beirut; Israel 'prepared for strong action' on Lebanon, Netanyahu says" — NBC News, June 5, 2024
• "Hezbollah ‘ready’ for an all-out war with Israel, deputy head says" — Al Jazeera, June 4, 2024
• Lucy Williamson. "Fires in northern Israel fuel demands to tackle escalation with Hezbollah" — BBC, June 4, 2024
• Seth J. Frantzman. "The fires in northern Israel are a wake-up call to complacency - analysis" — The Jerusalem Post, June 4, 2024
• "Lebanese Hezbollah" — Congressional Research Service, May 10, 2024