Thousands of people displaced due to fires in Syria, Lebanon and Israel

A picture taken near the northern Israeli kibbutz of Misgav Am in the Upper Galilee, shows fire burning on the Lebanese side of the border with Israel on October 9, 2020. - Several fires spread across northern and central Israel and the occupied West Bank as temperatures soared, forcing the evacuation of thousands of people, authorities said

Forest fires in Syria and neighbouring Lebanon have killed three people and burned swathes of land since Thursday, state media and officials said. Syrian state television on Saturday morning broadcast scenes from the affected areas, where firefighters were working to extinguish the blazes.

It said hundreds of hectares had burned in the countryside of Syria's coastal Latakia and Tartus provinces, and in the central Homs province. The health ministry said three people had died in Latakia province since Friday as a result of the fires, and that 70 people were taken to hospital suffering breathing difficulties. Dozens of fires were burning, including "45 in Latakia and 33 in Tartus", Syria's Agriculture Minister Mohammed Hassan Qatana told a radio station late Friday.

On Friday, authorities reported several fires across northern and central Israel and the occupied West Bank as temperatures soared, forcing thousands to evacuate. Dozens of fires hit Lebanon in mid-October last year, amid unusually high temperatures and strong winds. The government faced heavy criticism and accusations of ill-preparedness over its response to the 2019 blazes. Days after Lebanon's 2019 fires, mass protests broke out, triggered by proposed tax hikes but quickly transforming into months-long demonstrations against the ruling class, deemed by protesters as inept and corrupt.

Lebanon, there have been more than 100 fires across the country since Thursday, according to George Abu Musa, head of operations for the country's civil defence. "The situation is crazy, there are fires everywhere," Abu Musa told AFP. "We have mobilised 80 percent of our personnel and almost all our centres in Lebanon," he said. He said most of the blazes had been extinguished but some were still burning in the mountainous Chouf region in the south, and in Akkar in the north. Military helicopters were assisting firefighters in "hard-to-reach" areas, he added.

The health ministry said three people had died in Latakia province since Friday as a result of the fires, and that 70 people were taken to hospital suffering breathing difficulties.

Wildfires around the Middle East triggered by a heatwave hitting the region have killed two people, forced thousands of people to leave their homes and detonated landmines along the Lebanon-Israel border, state media and officials said Saturday. (AP Photo)