In areas under Israeli control, Lebanese firefighters require authorization to intervene to contain blazes caused by bombings. In villages that remain populated, residents feel isolated and fear they may be forced to leave their homes.
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Located at a high altitude, the village of Kfar Shouba is surrounded by olive, cherry, apple and oak trees. On Friday, August 14, its mayor, Qassem al-Qadiri, tried to inspect the outskirts of the village to assess the damage caused by recent fires. Two blazes, sparked by munitions dropped by the Israeli army, broke out during the first 10 days of the month. But the official and the residents accompanying him had to turn back, he said by phone, after Israeli gunfire in their direction signaled that the area was off limits. Israeli soldiers were stationed on the surrounding hills.
These fires on the wooded heights of Kfar Shouba were the first of the summer to hit the village. "The entire region was up in flames," reported the mayor. The Sunni village, which lies on the edge of the area that Israel has occupied since April in southern Lebanon, has once again experienced its isolation. "Civil defense firefighters couldn't intervene quickly because they needed authorization from the Israeli army," said al-Qadiri. He contacted the nearest contingent of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), made up of Indian soldiers, "but they [told him] they hadn't received instructions to move." As a result, according to him, the residents themselves had to face the fire "with very basic means."
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