Lebanese environmental activist Mona Khalil, 76, who turned a stretch of south‑Lebanon coast into one of eastern Mediterranean’s most important nesting sites for endangered turtles, has died after being wounded in an Israeli strike.
Khalil was injured when her house on Mansouri beach, near the southern city of Tyre, was struck during Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon two weeks ago. She was hospitalized and succumbed on Friday. Her death follows a rise in air strikes across southern Lebanon.
Hisham Younes, founder of Green Southerners, described Khalil as a deeply committed environmental defender, noting her bond to the beach and turtles. She dedicated her life to protecting loggerhead and green sea turtles, running the Orange House Project, an eco‑tourism and conservation initiative.
After a life‑changing encounter with a turtle in 1999, Khalil returned permanently to Lebanon from the Netherlands, establishing the Orange House Project in 2000 and building a centre for environmental education, protecting nesting sites and campaigning against coastal development.
She had previously survived damage to her home during the 2006 war yet refused to leave the beach she had protected. Her legacy will live on through the movement she helped build and the turtles returning to Lebanon’s shores.
Friends say she remained committed to her work despite years of conflict and that her love for turtles and people inspired generations.
The BBC has reached out to the Israeli military for a response. Her death highlights concerns about continued violence, despite diplomatic efforts to maintain a fragile regional peace.
