{"id":88407,"date":"2026-04-28T23:49:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T23:49:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/88407\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T23:49:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T23:49:17","slug":"lebanon-israels-ecocide-campaign-ongoing-since-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/88407\/","title":{"rendered":"Lebanon: \u2019Israel\u2019s\u2019 \u2019Ecocide\u2019 Campaign Ongoing Since 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Lebanon:<\/a><\/p>\n

Islam Times – Lebanon\u2019s environment minister said the “Israeli” occupation forces [IOF]committed \u201can act of ecocide\u201d in the foreword to a report documenting damage to the country\u2019s natural resources during the 2023\u20132024 invasion.The IOF aggression \u201creshaped both the physical and ecological landscape\u201d of southern Lebanon, according to the report, which does not consider the impacts of “Israel\u2019s” latest barrage of attacks this spring.<\/p>\n

Published amid a patchy ceasefire, as refugees from “Israel\u2019s” latest invasion return to shattered homes and communities, the 106-page report outlines how southern Lebanon has suffered profound ecological disruption and the loss of essential ecosystem services.<\/p>\n

In her foreword, Tamara el Zein said: \u201cThe scale and intentionality of the damage to forests, agricultural lands, marine ecosystems, water resources, and atmospheric quality constitute what must be recognized as an act of ecocide, with consequences that extend far beyond immediate destruction.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe environmental damage we face is not simply ecological \u2013 it is a matter of public health, food security, livelihoods, social fabric, and national resilience.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the report, “Israeli” strikes caused extensive environmental and agricultural damage in Lebanon, including 5,000 hectares of forest loss, destruction of $118 million in agricultural assets, and $586 million in lost production.<\/p>\n

The attacks also devastated orchards and plantations, contaminated soil with high phosphorus levels\u2014especially in the South and Bekaa\u2014and triggered widespread air pollution releasing toxic compounds far beyond strike zones.<\/p>\n

“Israel\u2019s” critics argue that it is currently repeating \u201cthe Gaza playbook\u201d in southern Lebanon by issuing the civilian population with expulsion orders, targeting hospitals and medical staff, demolishing entire villages, destroying water infrastructure and killing media workers.<\/p>\n

Within months of beginning its war on Gaza in 2023, the IOF had destroyed about 38-48% of tree cover and farmland, with olive groves and farms reduced to packed earth and groundwater contaminated by munitions and toxins, and air polluted by smoke and particulate matter.<\/p>\n

According to the new report, prepared by Lebanon\u2019s National Council for Scientific Research [CNRS-L] and covering the period between October 2023 and December 2024, southern Lebanon was similarly treated by the IOF.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe environmental footprint of the war is evident in the destruction of forests and woodlands, many of which served as biodiversity hotspots and carbon sinks, and in the burning of agricultural lands, including high-value orchards and staple crop fields, undermining both livelihoods and national food security,\u201d the report states.<\/p>\n

In total, it estimates the monetary cost to the country amounts to an estimated $25bn [$18bn], comprising $6.8bn in physical damages, $7.2bn in economic losses and $11bn in recovery and reconstruction needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cLebanon cannot carry this burden alone,\u201d El Zein said. \u201cWe call for international solidarity and support to share the responsibility of environmental recovery. The scale of the damage and the costs of restoration demand collective action and long-term partnerships.\u201d<\/p>\n

Doug Weir, the director of the Conflict and Environment Observatory, which studies the environmental impact of war, said: \u201cThe report\u2019s focus on building back better, and on strengthening national environmental monitoring capacities, are welcome recognition of two critical priorities for any conflict-affected state.<\/p>\n

\u201cSadly, elements of the report\u2019s findings are already out of date due to the devastation wrought by ‘Israel’ since the study period, particularly in the area it is illegally occupying south of the Litani River,\u201d he added. \n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Islam Times – Lebanon\u2019s environment minister said the “Israeli” occupation forces [IOF]committed \u201can act of ecocide\u201d in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":88408,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[31390,31389,9738,605,7228,3758,5604,15845,7018,31392,11294,10628,703,5396,31391,595,189,598,625,2412,93,5397,4100,24412,13359,591,14227,7952,31393,3759,12303,596,599,603],"class_list":{"0":"post-88407","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-lebanon","8":"tag-iofcommitted","9":"tag-31389","10":"tag-9738","11":"tag-a","12":"tag-act","13":"tag-an","14":"tag-campaign","15":"tag-countrys","16":"tag-damage","17":"tag-documenting","18":"tag-during","19":"tag-ecocide","20":"tag-environment","21":"tag-forces","22":"tag-foreword","23":"tag-in","24":"tag-invasion","25":"tag-islam","26":"tag-israels","27":"tag-israeli","28":"tag-lebanon","29":"tag-lebanons","30":"tag-minister","31":"tag-natural","32":"tag-occupation","33":"tag-of","34":"tag-ongoing","35":"tag-report","36":"tag-resources","37":"tag-said","38":"tag-since","39":"tag-the","40":"tag-times","41":"tag-to"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116485014301694025","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88407"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88407\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88408"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}