Ecological terrorism near Gaza border casts dark shadow on Israel’s landscape
The acrid smells of smoke and fertilizer fill the air in a field at Kibbutz Or Haner, near Gaza, still burning four days after the initial blaze.
Since April, lands near the Gaza Strip in Israel have been devastated by raging fires created by improvised incendiary devices sent over the border from Gaza. Hamas terrorists have been sending over burning fire kites, exploding balloons and condoms filled with helium from the Israeli-Gaza border.
“We are used to rockets,” says Giora Gindin, a carrot farmer from Or Haner, “but seeing the trees burning here for more than two months is some[thing] completely different.”
The devices, pulled by the wind, can start fires up to 30 kilometers away. The flames have left an estimated 1,215 hectares of land scorched and barren, as vegetation and animals are wiped out. Clouds of smoke and ash now fill the landscape, darkening the beauty of southwest Israel. These attacks may be directed at the population of Israel, but they have in fact caused significant damage to something that can’t fight back – the environment bordering Gaza.
Fires have been used as methods of war and terrorism since before the Roman Empire. The age-old tactic is used for its devastating impact and low cost.
“The goal of this tactic, like all terrorist tactics, is to make the most damage with the minimum resources, affecting the lives of the citizens. This includes damage to the ecology and environment of the region,” commented Dr. Shay Levy, an ecological scientist at Yezreel Valley College and an expert on forest fires.
Smoke inhalation has been a problem for the region’s inhabitants, with clouds of smoke and ash filling the air in both residential and public areas. The smell chokes residents and authorities, as they battle the flames in an attempt to minimize the damage caused by the ecological terrorism. Additionally, cropland and water lines have been damaged in the fires, threatening agricultural livelihoods. Areas irrigated with treated wastewater carry a particularly pungent smell as the organic matter burns.
Walking through impacted areas activates every physical sense. The smells, the heat and the sight shock, as you take in the aftermath of the fires. As the flames scorch patches of vegetation, they leave behind dark patches on the landscape. The areas burned are reminiscent of shadows, but unfortunately the true shadows are gone, as the trees, which had provided the shade, are now barren.
These fires have had a significantly destructive impact on nature, both locally and regionally. Plants and animals are impacted severely. Insects and small animals completely lose their habitat or perish in its destruction. Smaller species, such as turtles, snakes and rodents, are burned in the flames, but larger species are affected as well. As local vegetation and animals are burned or suffocated, species higher in the food chain, which rely on them, must leave the region to find new sources of food. The changes to the ecosystems may be longterm; it is difficult yet to say. Grasses have begun to return to lands burned a month ago, but other vegetation may not be so resilient. Whether the beautiful winter anemone will bloom is unknown.
There may also be long-term effects on the general climate. The burning of forests and vegetation releases CO2 into the atmosphere, adding to the increasing levels of greenhouse gases. Additionally, tire burning has led to the release of toxic chemicals, further reducing the quality of the air. Because of the rapidly changing conditions, the air quality is now being monitored by the Environmental Protection Ministry.
The local ecosystems have some resilience in the face of the fires, but there is a limit. As these habitats are pushed to the brink, it is questionable whether a full recovery will be possible. Altering levels of these gases in the atmosphere may be costly for our future, as the fires and other threats worsen with the effects of climate change in these prone areas.
Israeli defenses have struggled with ways to combat these recent tactics as they continue to escalate. There are teams spotting the devices as they enter Israel, warning the bordering inhabitants about the incoming threat.
At Kibbutz Or Haner, where members have lived and worked for over 50 years, they are battling fires on a scale they have never seen before. The residents of the kibbutz are the first responders, contacting authorities as the fires begin, and serving as backup when they get out of hand.
The costs they face in damages may reach hundreds of thousands of shekels. Though the best way of stopping the damage would be to end the terrorist attacks, Levy proposes other ways of mitigating the issue.
“[It’s] important to minimize the danger for the local communities,” Levy said. “We can do that by managing and reducing the flammability of the vegetation, and making roads for the firefighters and their fire engines.”
Roads also act as a natural block to the fires, but they are often not enough. Dr. Udi Columbus, ecological expert from the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, explained how firefighters are holding back the fires. In some instances, flame retardant is dropped to slow the flames, in others bulldozers are used to clear vegetation from the flames path. Either way, with the winds in the evening, the flames are difficult to fight.
Though the devices and their fires are difficult to combat, it is important that we continue to do so, says Columbus. The costs associated with the fires go beyond their suppression and prevention. As trees and vegetation are destroyed, ecosystems disappear. The shrubs and small vegetation may grow back, but it will not be so easy for the trees.
The animals may repopulate, but this will take time. Sentimental and touristic lands are destroyed, some of which have value beyond the quantifiable.
The costs of these fires are more than monetary, and the costs are too high not to act. Until this terrorism ends, a dark cloud remains over the Gaza border, the threats of flaming debris looming overhead.