Beirut: Lebanon has accused the Israeli army aircraft of spraying “toxic substances” over its agricultural land in several villages, raising concerns for environmental and food security.
According to a BBC report, residents from several villages reported the spraying, which comes more than a year after the war between the Lebanese Shia Islamist group and Israel ended through a ceasefire.
Laboratory tests conducted revealed that the substance was glyphosate, the Agriculture and Environment Ministries confirmed, a substance which is used to destroy vegetation.
The chemical’s concentration in some samples was between “20 and 30 times the levels usually accepted,” the ministries said. The substance also has risks to ecosystems already damaged by white phosphorus used by Israel during its war on Lebanon in 2024.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, earlier in the week, said that Israel had informed them of the planned spraying near its border and reportedly advised them to take shelter.
It was not the first time Israeli forces had dropped unknown toxic substances over Lebanese territory from an aircraft, they said, adding that the spraying forced them to cancel their operations.
Experts have warned that such incidents have a broader impact on Lebanon’s farming sector and are not just limited to harming local ecosystems.
“These areas are heavily dependent on agriculture – olive groves, tobacco, and other crops – and this incident complicates people’s ability to return to their homes, maintain their livelihoods, and rebuild after extensive destruction,” Ramzi Kaiss, a researcher with the Human Rights Watch in Lebanon, said.
Meanwhile, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned Israel’s spraying of chemical substances over orchards and land in border villages, calling it an overt violation of Lebanese sovereignty and a public health crime.
According to Turkish news agency Anadolu Agency, the Lebanese Foreign Ministry said they have begun documenting Israel’s actions in preparation for filing a complaint at the UN Security Council.
A ministry statement was released on Wednesday, February 4, stating that it will coordinate with Ministries of Agriculture, Health and Environment under presidential guidance to put together a detailed file of Israel’s “serious violations.”
In 2024, a ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel had ended more than a year of attacks that had killed over 4,000 individuals and left 17,000 injured, alongside Israel’s military action in Gaza.
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