Mourners gathered in Beirut to pay respects to Mona Khalil, a 77-year-old Lebanese conservationist who died from wounds sustained in an alleged Israeli strike on her home in the southern coastal village of al-Mansouri on June 4. She succumbed to her injuries on June 21.

Khalil dedicated over two decades to protecting sea turtles along Lebanon's coast. Her death sparked an outpouring of grief among environmentalists and volunteers. The Orange House Project, which she helped establish, became a sanctuary for endangered loggerhead and green sea turtles and a training ground for volunteers.

Born in Lagos, Nigeria in 1949, Khalil held Dutch and Lebanese citizenship. Her lifelong mission began in 1999 after a chance encounter with a turtle on al-Mansouri beach. Each nesting season, she and volunteers patrolled the beach at night, relocating nests away from human activity.

Journalist and environmental activist Fadia Jomaa, who met Khalil in 2016, said that during the 2024 war between Israel and Hezbollah, Khalil initially refused to leave al-Mansouri beach and was persuaded to evacuate by the Lebanese army. "She was the last one to leave the area," Jomaa noted.

Khalil reportedly struggled in Beirut and longed to return to the south. She once said, "My soul will stay here." Her burial location remains uncertain due to security concerns in the area.

Source: www.aljazeera.com