BEIRUT, Aug. 12 -- Israeli artillery and aviation struck three villages in southern Lebanon on Sunday, destroying residential buildings in Mansouri, Ali al-Taher, and Zawtar-Maifadoun while drone units set fire to orchards across the Western Beqaa valley, targeting a stretch of farmland between Niha and Kfar Houneh that communities in the region have cultivated for generations.

The attack on the orchards used incendiary drones, a weapon designed for area ignition rather than precision destruction. In the Beqaa valley, where the summer harvest is underway, fires set in August can destroy the season's yields and damage tree root systems in ways that require years to reverse. The Israeli military did not comment on the specific operations r...