Lebanon Accuses Israel of Glyphosate Spraying: "Environmental and Health Crime"
Lebanon has accused Israel of spraying a herbicide, identified as glyphosate, on farmland in the southern part of the country. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun criticized the action, terming it "an environmental and health crime" and a violation of Lebanese sovereignty. He stated that all necessary legal and diplomatic measures would be pursued. Israel's government did not respond to requests for comment regarding the allegations.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun criticized the action, terming it "an environmental and health crime" and a violation of Lebanese sovereignty.
Incident Details
Reports indicate the incident occurred on a Sunday morning. UN peacekeepers stated that the Israeli military had warned them to seek cover during an aerial operation, which Israel described as dropping a non-toxic chemical substance.
However, videos emerged showing light aircraft extensively spraying agricultural areas. Lebanese authorities conducted laboratory analyses, identifying the spray as glyphosate, a powerful herbicide. The World Health Organization classified glyphosate in 2015 as "probably carcinogenic to humans."
Environmental and Health Concerns
Lebanon's ministries of agriculture and environment issued a joint statement following the incident. They reported that some samples showed glyphosate concentrations 20 to 30 times higher than typical use.
The ministries asserted that the use of such chemicals would damage vegetation, impacting agricultural production, soil fertility, and ecological balance. They also emphasized threats to food security, natural resources, farmers' livelihoods, and potential health and environmental risks to water, soil, and the entire food chain.
The ministries asserted that the use of such chemicals would damage vegetation, impacting agricultural production, soil fertility, and ecological balance.
Prior to this, videos also showed Israeli planes allegedly spraying agricultural areas in Syria on three occasions within a week.
Broader Context
The southern Lebanese countryside has experienced environmental damage from previous Israeli military actions, including alleged use of white phosphorus and incendiary bombs that reportedly burned farmland, olive groves, and forests. These actions are said to have left soils polluted and the landscape scattered with unexploded munitions.
Hisham Younes, president of the Lebanese environmental group Green Southerners, stated that repeated attacks on the region's ecosystem would have "cumulative, complex and deep impacts," noting that the area's soil and vegetation are already stressed.
Hisham Younes stated that repeated attacks on the region's ecosystem would have "cumulative, complex and deep impacts."
Younes suggested that the alleged targeting of agricultural land, including beekeepers, aligns with what he termed a "legacy of colonial practices" involving long-term destructive effects on natural systems and livelihoods, contributing to an evolving pattern of cumulative environmental harm.