Lebanon Condemns Israeli Chemical Spraying as “Ecocide”

Summary:

In a joint official statement, Lebanon's Ministries of Agriculture and Environment have condemned Israeli military aircraft spraying chemical substances over southern Lebanese regions as “ecocide”. 

According to the statement, issued in coordination with the Lebanese Army and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), laboratory analysis identified the sprayed substance as the herbicide glyphosate, with concentration levels found to be between twenty and thirty times higher than what the statement describes as ‘normal’ levels. 

The ministries warn of direct consequences for vegetation, agricultural production, soil fertility and ‘ecological balance’, and call on residents and farmers in affected areas to avoid contact with damaged crops or using local water sources pending official guidance.

The country’s president, Joseph Aoun, condemned what he called “an environmental and health crime” and a "blatant violation” of Lebanese sovereignty.

The Guardian reported that ‘UN peacekeepers…were warned by the Israeli military to remain under cover while it carried out an aerial operation to drop what they said was a non-toxic chemical substance.’ 

Speaking in Geneva, The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) described the development as posing a “serious humanitarian risk” to civilians.

Separate investigations have previously examined the use of aerial herbicides in the region. A 2019 report by Forensic Architecture cites a Freedom of Information response from the Israeli Ministry of Defense confirming that in November 2016 aerial herbicides were sprayed along the perimeter of Gaza over an estimated area of 12,000 dunams (12 square kilometres).

Read the full statement from Lebanon’s Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Environment here.