Mona Khalil, a leading Lebanese conservationist who spent decades protecting sea turtles and the Mediterranean coast, has died. Khalil, 76, died Friday after an Israeli airstrike struck her beachside home near the al-Mansouri beach outside the city of Tyre two weeks earlier, relatives said.
Only Khalil and her Ethiopian housekeeper were in the dwelling known as the Orange House when it was hit. Relatives said the housekeeper sustained less-severe injuries. The Orange House sat just steps from the nesting beaches Khalil worked for years to protect.
The Israeli military told NPR it had no indication it had struck that house but said it was reviewing records. The military did not provide a timeline for completing that review.
The strike comes amid an escalation of fighting in southern Lebanon between Israeli forces and Iran-backed Hezbollah. Lebanon’s health ministry says more than 4,000 people have been killed since the conflict began on March 2, including at least 600 women and children. Israel says 35 soldiers and a military contractor, plus two civilians, have been killed in attacks by Hezbollah.
Khalil is credited with creating a grassroots conservation movement along Lebanon’s southern coast. Volunteers trained by her monitored sea turtle nests, shielded clutches from predators and human disturbance with wire mesh, and assisted hatchlings in reaching the sea. Volunteers typically patrol beaches at night in late summer, find newly laid nests, protect the eggs until they hatch and escort the tiny turtles to the water. Because of coastal development, pollution and predators, a newly hatched turtle’s chance of reaching adulthood is roughly one in 1,000.
Rami Khachab, a herpetologist from al-Mansouri who began volunteering with Khalil while in high school, said she introduced generations of young Lebanese to conservation work. Khalil’s work began after a chance encounter on the beach about 25 years ago: while sitting with friends she watched a female turtle emerge to lay eggs and inadvertently toss sand over her, an event that inspired her to study and protect the species.
Khalil reached out to European turtle-protection groups to learn monitoring and protection techniques, and she turned the Orange House into an education center, ecotourism guesthouse and observation point. Her efforts helped secure official recognition for community-led protection of nesting grounds and included campaigns against beach privatization and destructive fishing methods, including a successful push to ban dynamite fishing along parts of the coast.
Fadia Joumaa, a former volunteer who later took over the conservation work when Khalil retired in 2020, said Khalil had vowed to remain at her home during the fighting because she considered herself a civilian and believed the house was not near military targets. Green Southerners, an environmental group, called Khalil one of Lebanon’s most respected voices for marine conservation and urged accountability for the deaths of civilians.
Those who worked with her say Khalil was uncompromising and often clashed with local opponents of her conservation campaigns; volunteers recalled instances when shots were fired at her house in past disputes.
Khalil’s death removes a prominent and persistent advocate for Lebanon’s coastal environment at a time when the region’s communities and ecosystems are under increasing strain.
Jawad Rizkhallah contributed reporting from Beirut.