Port Sudan – OnePress
A report by Al Jazeera Media Network revealed the effects of aerial spraying attributed to Israeli aircraft flying at low altitudes along the borders with Syria and Lebanon, turning large areas of green fields into completely burned and barren land.
According to the report, investigations by PAX for Peace suggested the use of the herbicide glyphosate during spraying, a compound classified by World Health Organization as “potentially carcinogenic to humans.”
Analyses of samples taken from affected areas in southern Lebanon showed concentrations of the chemical 50 to 60 times higher than normal, amid growing concerns about long-term health and environmental impacts on populations, agriculture and soils.
The Al Jazeera data unit monitored through satellite images the extent of the damage strip within Syrian territory for a distance of about 55 kilometers and a width of 30 to 100 meters, while the trajectory of spraying within Lebanese territory extended an estimated 35 kilometers along the border.
In an official comment, the Lebanese Minister of Agriculture said that the spraying operations are “not random,” considering that they come within the framework of a security policy aimed at creating an open buffer zone by integrating high-concentration pesticide spraying with white phosphorus shelling and land razing, leading to the complete removal of vegetation.
Intensity of spraying in some areas of southern Lebanon has prompted UN peacekeepers to suspend their movements and stay inside shelters for more than nine hours, the report said, amid concerns about exposure to chemicals circulating in the air.
Human rights organizations have documented similar operations near the Gaza Strip since 2014, using herbicides in border agricultural areas in security and military arrangements that have drawn widespread international criticism.