Oil spill reaches shores of Israel, Lebanon

An oil spill earlier this month is threatening the eastern Mediterranean, but many details on the incident are unknown.
Lebanese workers use water pressure to clean-up the oil spill which polluted the Rabbit Island, offshore the Nothern Lebanese city of Tripoli, on March 31, 2009. The oil spill was caused by the explosion of fuel reservoirs stationed in the southern coastal town of Jiyyeh during the Israeli offensive on Lebanon in July 2006. At least 10,000 tons of heavy fuel oil have been spilled into the Lebanese sea, causing an environmental catastrophe with severe effects on health, biodiversity and tourism. The oil spil
Lebanese workers use water pressure to clean-up the oil spill which polluted the Rabbit Island, offshore the Nothern Lebanese city of Tripoli, on March 31, 2009. - Georges Haddad/AFP via Getty Images
Al Monitor: The Pulse of the Middle East
Al-Monitor Staff

An oil spill in the eastern Mediterranean is affecting Lebanon and Israel’s coastlines, but details surrounding the incident are unclear.

The Israeli Environmental Protection Ministry believes the oil spill occurred between Feb. 6 and Feb. 10. Most of the country’s shoreline blackened as a result, The Associated Press reported on Monday.

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