Oil spill off Israel coast reaches Lebanon’s shores

Men clean tar from the sand as part of the beach cleanup effort after tar covered Israel’s coast on February 22, 2021 in Hadera, Israel. [Amir Levy/Getty Images]

Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister Hassan Diab said yesterday he was following up on an oil spill that may have originated from a ship passing near the Israeli coast and has now reached the southern shores of Lebanon, Reuters reported.

Israeli officials said on Sunday they were trying to find the ship responsible for the spill that drenched much of its Mediterranean shoreline with tar, an environmental blow that will take months or years to clean up.

Lebanon’s Diab has tasked the defence minister, environment minister and the National Council for Scientific Research with the follow-up, a statement from his office said.

The sticky black deposits that showed up on Israeli beaches were visible yesterday on beaches in a nature reserve in Tyre, south Lebanon.

The United Nations interim forces in Lebanon will be informed to draw up an official report, the statement said.

Israel is looking as a possible source at a 11 February oil spill from a ship passing about 50 kilometres offshore.

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