I didn’t find a Reuters article either, but I found this from 2003 — so that’s 20 years ago:
I thought it matched with a literal interpretation of 39:9
”“Then those who inhabit the cities of Israel will go out and make fires with the weapons and burn them, both shields and bucklers, bows and arrows, war clubs and spears, and for seven years they will make fires of them.“
Ezekiel 39:9