Mona Khalil, 76, Dies After Israeli Strike Hit Lebanon Turtle Sanctuary
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jun 20
Mona Khalil, 76, Dies After Israeli Strike Hit Lebanon Turtle Sanctuary
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jun 20
Summary
Mona Khalil, 76, died Friday after an Israeli airstrike earlier this month struck her home near Tyre, the base of her Orange House Project protecting nesting sea turtles.
The strike severely wounded Khalil and burned her Ethiopian assistant, who is recovering, while ending the work of a sanctuary that hosted volunteers to clean and monitor a mile-long beach.
Khalil returned from the Netherlands in 1999 and turned her family land into an ecotourism and conservation hub for loggerhead and green turtles along Lebanon’s southern coast.
Her campaign had survived local opposition, dynamite fishing and a previous hit on her house during the 2006 war, even as she vowed in 2017 to continue indefinitely.
Green Southerners said her death showed the toll of Israeli attacks on civilians, environmental defenders and the natural heritage they sought to protect.
As Trump admonishes Netanyahu over Lebanon strikes, is the US-Israel alliance facing its greatest crisis?
With a US-Iran peace deal failing in 48 hours, is a wider Middle East war now inevitable?
The Killing of Mona Khalil: The 2026 Airstrike That Silenced Lebanon’s Leading Turtle Conservationist and Threatens Environmental Activism
Overview
Mona Khalil, born in Lagos in 1949, became a leading figure in Lebanese conservation and was known as Lebanon’s turtle advocate. She established the Orange House Project, which transformed Mansouri beach into a vital sanctuary for marine life and environmental education. Through her efforts, she safeguarded endangered sea turtles by maintaining the beach as a pristine nesting ground and personally releasing baby turtles into the sea. Her dedication inspired many and created a lasting impact on environmental protection in Lebanon, even as her work continued amid conflict and instability.