Two Killed in Separate Incidents During South Lebanon Olive Harvest

It’s olive harvest season for agriculture-heavy southern Lebanon, and while more than a few olive groves have been destroyed outright by the ongoing Israeli invasion, the ones that remain are active with people trying to harvest the year’s crops. Two people have been killed over the course of the harvest of Sunday, both as a result of military operations, albeit in separate incidents. The first, a retired soldier from Yater, was killed in an Israeli artillery shelling of the outskirts of town, as he was inspecting his land. The second person killed was near the village of Froun. An engineer who lives in Beirut and comes down annually to help with the harvest, he was killed when a “foreign object” left by a previous Israeli military operation in the area, exploded. Olive trees in Marjayoun District were destroyed in white phosphorous strikes | Image from X Froun mayor Hassan Bazzi reported that the locals in that village had decided to put the remaining harvest on hold and wait for the military to complete “decontamination.” Froun is in the Bint Jbeil District, however, where Israeli activity is still ongoing, so there’s no timetable for when that will actually happen. In addition to the deaths, Israeli forces launched shelling and airstrikes across southern Lebanon , at a rate somewhat higher than recent weeks, raising concerns that as Israeli elections approach, the conflict is going to escalate. Strikes were reported hitting Kfar Tebnit and Mansouri, while both Mayfadoun and Zawtar al-Sharqiya reported intense artillery barrages overnight. Israeli warplanes were reportedly being seen not just over the south, but over the capital of Beirut, as well as along the eastern Bekaa Valley. Israel invaded Lebanon in early March of this year, killing thousands of people and displacing well over a million. The military occupied much of southern Lebanon, and while the US-brokered peace talks continue, Israel has so far refused to commit to either withdrawing from Lebanese soil or from stopping their daily attacks on the country. The rate of attacks has fallen since the talks began, however, which has led many displaced Lebanese to try to return to their homes in the south even if it’s not necessarily safe to do so. Today’s incidents underscore the danger not just from remnants of this year’s war, but from the active attacks that are still ongoing. If you liked this article, please support Antiwar.com. We are 100% reader-supported.