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Environmental Damages |
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While the loss of so many innocent lives remains justifiably the center of attention of the latest Israel - Hezbollah war, the environment too has become another unnecessary victim. |
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The environmental destruction of the Israel - Hezbollah war is serious in both Israel and Lebanon.
In Israel, a reported 600,000 trees have to date been burnt down in forest fires caused by Hezbollah Katyusha rockets falling on open areas in northern Israel. The loss of forests is not only the loss of trees but also of wildlife caught in the flames and habitat areas and nesting grounds burnt to the core. Courageous firefighters did not stop for a moment, even in the midst of bombings, to put out as much of the fires as possible.
Click here for photos of the fires. (From the website of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority)
In Lebanon, however, the major environment disaster was the oil spill from the Jieh power plant, some 30 kilometers south of Beirut, which Israel bombed during the hostilities. An estimated 15,000-30,000 tons of heavy fuel oil were released in to the sea, which made its way north up the Lebanese coast, reaching Syria, and if unchecked, threatens to be the greatest environmental disaster ever in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Click here for photos of the oil spill
Click here for the latest satellite photo of the oil spill disaster.
For more information, see Friends of the Earth Europe updates on the environmental impact of the Hezbollah-Israel war.
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