On Tuesday, Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir called for the burning and destruction of Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon, in response to fires sweeping the forests of northern Israel as a result of missiles and drones launched by the party.

During a visit to the Kiryat Shmona settlement near the Lebanese border, Ben Gvir, leader of the far-right Jewish Power party, said: “Now the Israeli army’s mission is to destroy Hezbollah.”

He added: "Our land cannot be harmed and people are evacuated here and Lebanon is at peace... They are burning here, and all Hezbollah strongholds must be burned and destroyed," according to what the Anadolu correspondent reported.

Today, Israeli firefighting crews continue attempts to extinguish widespread fires in the north that were ignited two days ago by the fall of missiles and drones launched by Hezbollah, and the drought and heat threaten to spread them.

The fires broke out in areas including Kiryat Shmona, Safed, Tiberias, Amiad, Kfar Giladi, Keren Naftali, Btist and Margaliot, and injured 16 people, including 7 reserve soldiers.

Israel sent army and police forces to help firefighting teams extinguish the fire that consumed about 4,000 dunums (a dunum equals a thousand square metres) of forests, and there is still no estimate of the total losses.

For decades, Israel has occupied Lebanese lands in the south.

Palestinian and Lebanese factions in Lebanon, including Hezbollah, exchange intermittent daily bombardment with the Israeli army across the dividing “Blue Line,” resulting in hundreds killed and wounded, most of them on the Lebanese side.

The factions say they stand in solidarity with Gaza, which has been exposed to an Israeli war since October 7 that left more than 119,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and about 10,000 missing amid deadly famine and massive destruction.