Lebanon Accuses Israel of Ecocide and Systematic Destruction of South Lebanon
Lebanon accused the Israeli military of carrying out widespread environmental destruction and burning farmland across the south of the country, prompting formal warnings from state officials regarding the long-term viability of the region’s ecosystems and local livelihoods. The ongoing military campaign has degraded large stretches of territory through a combination of incendiary munitions, systematic structural demolitions, and aerial herbicide spraying.
Environmental Damage and Ecocide Accusations
Lebanon’s environment minister formally accused Israel’s military of committing an act of ecocide during the conflict, according to a 106-page report published by Lebanon’s National Council for Scientific Research (CNRS-L). The assessment, which examines damage sustained between October 2023 and December 2024, estimates that the total monetary cost of the destruction amounts to $25 billion, encompassing $6.8bn in physical damages, $7.2bn in economic losses, and $11bn in recovery and reconstruction needs.
Tamara el Zein, Lebanon’s minister for the environment, stated in the report’s foreword that the scale and intentionality of the damage to forests, agricultural lands, marine ecosystems, and water resources extend far beyond immediate destruction. According to the document, Israeli military actions damaged 5,000 hectares of forest cover—including broadleaf, pine, and stone pine stands—destroyed physical agricultural assets, and caused additional losses in lost agricultural production due to disrupted harvests and reduced yields. Furthermore, the report documented the destruction of 2,154 hectares of orchards, including olive groves and citrus plantations, alongside soil contamination featuring phosphorus concentrations reaching up to 1,858 parts per million in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley.
Munitions and Controlled Demolitions in Southern Villages
Across the border zone, Israeli forces have made extensive use of white phosphorus munitions, which military officials state are deployed as smoke screens to mask troop movements and deny cover to Hezbollah fighters, while denying any intent to start fires. However, investigations indicate that the shelling torched oak and pine forests, destroyed centuries-old olive groves, and left soils contaminated with lead and heavy metals long after tactical concealment needs had passed.
In border areas where munitions have not flattened settlements entirely, Israeli forces have utilized remote-detonated explosives to level entire neighborhoods. Footage of mass detonations in villages such as Taybeh, Naqoura, and Deir Seryan shows entire communities were razed in single blasts. Additional mass detonations have been filmed and published by the Israeli military itself in Mhaibib and Majdal Zoun. Lebanese state media reported that underground explosions in Adaisseh and Kfar Kila were large enough to trigger earthquake-warning systems in Israel.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that all homes in Lebanese border villages will be destroyed, comparing the plan to military demolitions in Rafah and Beit Hanoun in Gaza. Dr. Hisham Younes, president of the Lebanese environmental organization Green Southerners, noted a sharp rise in fires coinciding with or following large-scale Israeli detonations and neighborhood demolitions in occupied border areas, compounding the ecological crisis alongside the phosphorus shelling.