Fires caused by Israeli shelling in south Lebanon have burned some 40,000 olive trees and torched hundreds of square miles of land, dealing a serious blow to a major Lebanese crop, the agriculture minister said. Fires on Lebanon's side of the border have flared daily since the Iran-backed Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah and Israel began exchanging fire last month after war between Israel and Gaza's ruling Palestinian Islamist group Hamas erupted. Agriculture Minister Abbas Hajj Hassan accused Israel of starting the fires by using shells containing white phosphorous to destroy wooded areas which Hezbollah fighters - who began firing into Israel in support of Hamas in what has become the worst flare-up of border hostilities since a 2006 war - could use as cover. The Israeli army denied the accusation and said the types of smoke-screen shell it uses do not contain white phosphorus. (Reuters)
Lebanon says fires destroy 40,000 olive trees, blames Israeli shelling
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