Lebanon says fires destroy 40,000 olive trees, blames Israeli shelling

Fires caused by Israeli shelling in south Lebanon have burned some 40,000 olive trees and torched hundreds of square km (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. People are connected to olives spiritually.