Tar From “Israel” Oil Spill Washes Up on Lebanese Shore

Black deposits were discovered on the coast of Tyre and covered around 200 meters of the area that mostly make up a major part of the Tyre Nature Reserve.

The black deposits on Lebanon's shore were detected after great quantities of tar were spilled on the “Israeli”-occupied Palestinian coast while being unloaded from a ship. The “Israeli” entity is facing its "worst environmental disaster in a decade” as reported by international media outlets as it has to deal with a devastated coastline covered with tons of tar.

The part of the Lebanese coast covered with tar is a popular tourism site and a beach many Lebanese enjoy. The coast is also a habitat for marine life and a turtle breeding area.

The search and exploration team working in the nearby area has not been able to verify yet if there are more affected areas.

The director of the nature reserve Hasan Hamze said that they still do not know the impact of the oil spill on the area but they noted several contaminated turtles, the Lebanese Daily Star reported.

"This oil spill poses a very , very big threat to sea life and biodiversity," Hamze added.

Environmental teams started to conduct a survey and assessed the coast stretching from Tyre to Ras al-Naqoura to the south searching for any other areas similarly affected.

The team until now has registered the presence of another tar deposit in the Ras al-Bayada.

Caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab followed up on the issue and tasked caretaker Defense Minister Zeina Akar and caretaker Environment Minister Demianos Kattar, in addition to the National Council for Scientific Research, to look into the issue and request from UNIFIL personnel to prepare an official report on the incident and include damage assessment.