Mourners gather to remember Lebanese conservationist killed by Israel

Key Points:

• Mona Khalil, a renowned Lebanese conservationist dedicated to protecting sea turtles along Lebanon’s southern coast, died from injuries sustained in an Israeli strike on her home in al-Mansouri village, Tyre province, on June 4.
• Khalil, aged 77, was critically injured in the attack and passed away more than two weeks later, prompting an outpouring of grief among environmentalists and volunteers who gathered in Beirut to honor her legacy.
• She co-founded the Orange House Project, a conservation hub and ecotourism site that served as a refuge for endangered loggerhead and green sea turtles and a training ground for volunteers monitoring nesting activity.
• Born in Nigeria and holding Dutch and Lebanese citizenship, Khalil devoted over two decades to protecting a narrow stretch of coastline where she began her conservation work after witnessing a turtle nesting in 1999.
• Despite dangers during conflicts, Khalil remained committed to her work, only evacuating al-Mansouri beach during the 2024 Israel-Hezbollah war after persuasion by the Lebanese army, and expressed a deep spiritual connection to the area where she wished to be buried.