Mona Khalil, a famed Lebanese turtle conservationist, died of injuries received after an airstrike hit her home in Mansouri, southern Lebanon, according to the Lebanese wildlife conservation group Green Southerners.
The group eulogized Khalil on its social media, noting that she had for decades “dedicated her life to protecting endangered sea turtles and their nesting habitats.”
“Her work made her one of Lebanon’s most respected voices for marine conservation and biodiversity protection.”
Khalil’s home was reportedly hit by an Israeli airstrike on June 4, where she was seriously injured. Her assistant also suffered injuries and burns in the strike.
Both were evacuated to a nearby hospital to recieve medical treatement, with Khalil later being transfered to the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) for futher treatement. She succumbed to her injuries on June 19.
Khalil, 76, was born in Lagos and moved to Mansouri in the early 2000s, shortly before the IDF withdrew from southern Lebanon on the orders of former prime minister Ehud Barak.
Soon after, she opened the Orange House - a bed and breakfast she painted orange (reminiscent of her time living in the Netherlands) meant to act as a source of income to finance her and a friend's environmentalist work.
She also launched a protection and ecotourism project for loggerhead and green sea turtles on nearby beaches.
In a 2013 interview with The Daily Star, Khalil described the Orange House as a place of tolerance.
“People come because here it's a very private place,” she said. “It's a place where nobody is going to judge them, so long as they respect nature. Homosexuals, lesbians, whatever - nobody will judge them here.”
Life-long devotion to protecting sea turtles
After being trained by the Athens-based NGO Mediterranean Association to Save the Sea Turtles (MEDASSET), Khalil served for years as a vocal advocate for the conservation of sea turtles, going head-to-head with beachgoers, fishermen, and, in one case, reportedly Hezbollah, in order to ensure that turtles were able to nest during the season without interference.
Khalil retired in the early 2020s.
“Her death stands as a stark reminder that the ongoing violence in southern Lebanon is exacting a devastating toll on civilians, environmental defenders, and the natural heritage they sought to protect,” Green Southerners wrote. "We extend our deepest condolences to her family, friends, colleagues, and all those who worked alongside her."
"Mona Khalil’s legacy will endure in the coastline she devoted her life to protecting, the sea turtles she fought to defend, and the values of conservation and stewardship she championed."