Mona Khalil, Lebanon's turtle protector, dies after Israeli strike
The 77-year-old marine ecologist, who spent decades saving endangered sea turtles, succumbed to injuries from an attack on her home near Tyre.
Mona Khalil, a Lebanese marine ecologist known for her dedicated work in protecting sea turtles, died on Friday from wounds sustained in an Israeli strike on her home near Tyre last week. She was 77.
Her death came on the same day Israel escalated air attacks on southern Lebanon, killing at least 50 people and injuring dozens, despite the risk posed to a fragile peace deal between Iran and the United States.
Khalil's journey began in 1999 after a chance encounter with a turtle that emerged from the sea to lay eggs on al-Mansouri beach near Tyre. She went on to dedicate decades to protecting the nesting sites of endangered loggerhead and green sea turtles on Lebanon's southern coast. Both species are highly threatened by coastal development, plastic pollution, fishing nets, and light pollution, and face extinction in the eastern Mediterranean.
In 2000, she helped establish the Orange House, an eco-tourism project at al-Mansouri beach. She also documented marine life in southern Lebanon and advocated against pollution of the coastline.
Environmental group Live Love Tyre mourned her passing in a Facebook statement: "It is with deep sadness that we mourn the passing of Mona Khalil today. She will be remembered through an incredible legacy. Through it all, Mona chose to stay and care for the turtles of Live Love Tyre. Her life was selfless and impactful."
Journalist and volunteer Fadia Joumaa, who worked closely with Khalil, paid tribute: "You have left us yet you remain within us – we, your children. Your death is a loss for all of Lebanon… not just for us. A loss for the life you guarded so faithfully."
