In brief
Lebanese environmental activist Mona Khalil, who defended dozens of endangered sea‑turtle nesting sites on the south coast, was fatally wounded during an Israeli air strike on her house near Tyre. She died after several days in hospital, a local environmental group confirmed. Khalil’s death underscores the growing violence in southern Lebanon and poses a fresh threat to the region’s fragile marine ecosystem. Mona Khalil devoted 25 years to protecting loggerhead and green turtles, establishing the Orange House project at Mansouri beach and campaigning against coastal development. Local activists say her legacy will live on through the conservation movement she helped build and the turtles that continue to return to her shores. The BBC has sought a response from the Israeli military regarding the strike that killed her.
Mona Khalil, a 76‑year‑old firefighter of Lebanon’s marine wildlife, was killed in an Israeli strike on her home at Mansouri beach near Tyre.
The attack, part of a surge of air raids in southern Lebanon, hit Khalil’s house, leaving her wounded. She was hospitalized, but she died on Friday after days of treatment, local environmental groups confirmed.
Khalil’s work turned a stretch of coastline into a critical nesting site for endangered loggerhead and green sea turtles, protecting the area from destructive fishing and coastal development. She established the Orange House project in 2000, an eco‑tourism and conservation hub that drew visitors worldwide.
Her legacy, according to friends, is the movement she built and the generations of turtles that continue to return to Lebanon. The BBC has reached out to the Israeli military for a response.
The incident comes amid escalating violence, as Israeli air strikes intensify across southern Lebanon. It highlights the vulnerability of civilians and crucial environmental sites in the conflict zone.
