By Riham AlkousaaBEIRUT (Reuters) - 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. The Israeli army denied the accusation and said the types of smoke-screen shell it uses do not contain white phosphorus. "These olives have not been harvested yet, meaning we lost the trees and the season," Hajj Hassan said. (But) we have olives trees that are 200 years old." Mohammad el Husseini of the south Lebanon farmers syndicate said the Lebanese government would not be able to compensate farmers for the losses, with the country four years into a devastating financial meltdown.

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Persons: Israel, Abbas Hajj Hassan, Hajj Hassan, Dory Farah, Alma Alashaab, Mohammad el Husseini, Riham Alkousaa, Emily Rose, Mark Heinrich Organizations: Hezbollah, Hamas, Reuters, Agriculture, Agriculture Organization, FAO Locations: Riham, BEIRUT, Lebanon, Iran, Lebanese, Israel, Palestinian, Alma, Food, Olive, Beirut, Jerusalem