Leading Lebanese conservationist dies after Israeli airstrike on her home

Mona Khalil, a Lebanese ecologist activist, looks at a turtle in the southern Lebanese port city of Tyre in August 2002. Jihad Seqlawi/AFP via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Jihad Seqlawi/AFP via Getty Images BEIRUT — Lebanese conservationist Mona Khalil was first introduced to a green sea turtle as she was drinking a beer on the beach and a female turtle laying eggs threw sand over her, according to a volunteer with the decades-long effort she began to save the endangered animals. Khalil, 76, died Friday after an Israeli airstrike hit her beachside home two weeks ago. She's credited with creating a conservation movement in southern Lebanon that protected sea turtle nesting grounds and southern Lebanon's Mediterranean coast. Her housekeeper, who is Ethiopian, sustained less-severe injuries in the attack, Khalil's relatives said. The two women were the only occupants of what was known as "the Orange House" just steps from the al-Mansouri beach near the city of Tyre. The Israeli military said last week in response to an NPR query that it had no indication it had hit the house but was reviewing its records. It did not respond to a query about when the review might be completed. Israel has invaded southern Lebanon and is attacking what it says are Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters and infrastructure. The Lebanese health ministry says more than 4,000 people have been killed since the war began on March 2, including at least 600 women and children. …