Mona Khalil: Lebanon's 'Turtle Guardian' Killed in Israeli Airstrike! Read On

Mona Khalil, an environmentalist who spent over 20 years protecting rare, endangered sea turtles, has passed away. She was a well-known activist in Lebanon.

Beirut: Mona Khalil, a famous marine ecologist and environmental activist, has died in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon. The 77-year-old activist had dedicated her life to protecting rare sea turtles.

Khalil was seriously injured in an attack last week. She was receiving treatment but passed away yesterday at her home near the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon.

For more than two decades, Mona Khalil was a familiar face on the coasts of southern Lebanon. She worked tirelessly to protect rare and endangered sea turtles in the area.

Mona was born in Lagos, Nigeria, in 1949. She lived abroad for many years before finally moving to Lebanon. Her life took a completely new turn in 1999. One day, she saw a sea turtle coming ashore to lay eggs on al-Mansouri beach near Tyre, and that moment changed everything for her.

Inspired by this, in 2000, she started the 'Orange House'. It was an eco-tourism project on al-Mansouri beach. The main goal was to create a safe space for endangered loggerhead and green sea turtles to breed. She was also a vocal activist. She fought against plastic pollution, illegal construction, and fishing nets that harmed sea creatures. She regularly spoke out against the pollution spoiling Lebanon's beautiful coasts.

Her colleagues said her death is not just a personal loss. They described it as a huge blow to nature, to life, and to Lebanon itself.