Mona Khalil, a 77-year-old Lebanese marine ecologist who devoted over two decades to protecting endangered sea turtles on Lebanon's southern coast, died on Friday from wounds sustained in an Israeli attack on her home near Tyre last week.
Her death came on the same day Israel intensified air strikes across southern Lebanon, killing at least 50 people and wounding dozens, even as a fragile ceasefire between Iran and the United States hung in the balance.
"It is with deep sadness that we mourn the passing of Mona Khalil today," the environmental group Live Love Tyre wrote on Facebook. "She will be remembered through an incredible legacy. Through it all, Mona chose to stay and care for the turtles of Live Love Tyre. Her life was selfless and impactful."
Khalil was born in Lagos, Nigeria, in 1949 and lived abroad before settling in southern Lebanon. Her conservation work began by chance in 1999, when she saw a turtle emerge from the sea to lay eggs on al-Mansouri beach. That moment sparked a lifelong mission to safeguard the nesting sites of loggerhead and green sea turtles, both highly threatened by coastal development, plastic pollution, fishing nets, and light pollution.
In 2000, she helped establish the Orange House, an eco-tourism project on al-Mansouri beach, and spent years documenting marine life and advocating against coastal pollution.
"You have left us yet you remain within us – we, your children," said journalist and volunteer Fadia Joumaa, who worked closely with Khalil, in a Facebook tribute. Khalil's death "is a loss for all of Lebanon... not just for us. A loss for the life you guarded so faithfully."
Khalil's dedication earned her the nickname "Lebanon's turtle lady" among activists and locals.