The South Loses 56,000 Olive Trees in the Worst Environmental Disaster Yet
Amid relentless Israeli violations that have continued since the last war, this year’s olive season begins less like a harvest and more like an act of defiance.
In Meiss al-Jabal, Aitaroun, Bint Jbeil, and Rmeish, the stories are almost identical despite the different names.
This year’s harvest feels like an attempt to pull life out from beneath the rubble: men stretching their baskets between scorched trees, women picking olives with one trembling hand while the other clings to the soil, and the distant echoes of shelling reviving memories of a war that has never truly ended.
Despite daily violations that endanger southern residents and prevent them from safely reaching their land—despite thousands of olive trees burned by ongoing Israeli bombardment and the absence of any official plan to salvage what remains—farmers who have lost most of their crops insist on harvesting whatever they can.
They return to the same fields that once burned, carrying their baskets as if holding on to the final remnants of livelihood.
But behind this determination lies another painful truth: declining production, rising costs, and accumulating losses that threaten one of the most vital sources of income for southern farmers, both men and women.
I Used to Harvest 900 Kilos… This Year Only 26
Hajj Yousef Qarout from Meiss al-Jabal used to harvest nearly 900 kilograms of olives every season, producing around 15 gallons of oil.
This year, he managed to gather only 26 kilograms—barely four liters of oil stripped of its usual flavor and aroma.
“The entire land slid away… not a single tree is still standing,” he says, pointing to the three dunums and sixty olive trees uprooted by Israeli attacks, even though his land is located hundreds of meters from the border.
This year’s harvest looks like nothing but an attempt to pull life out from beneath the rubble.
The rising cost of labor has only made things worse.
A single worker now costs $25 a day, while production barely covers the family’s basic needs.
Hajj Yousef even had to buy oil from other regions—Hasbaya, the Beqaa, and the North-at $160 per gallon, after being someone who used to sell around four gallons in previous seasons.
He adds that his brother, who used to produce between fifty and sixty tins of oil each season, managed this year to produce only a quarter of a tin.
“The village is ruined,” he says, explaining that this year’s production covers barely 10 to 15 percent of previous seasons.
23 Gallons Before the War… Just One This Year
In Bint Jbeil, the situation is no better.
Um Tarek describes this year’s season as “illegitimate — almost nonexistent.”
She used to fill her home with 23 gallons of pure olive oil each year—more than 390 kilograms.
This year, she harvested only one gallon and five kilograms of olives.
“Ever since the war began, the olives were ruined… the trees stopped producing,” she says.
She lost around sixty olive trees, many of which were shattered or partially burned by shelling.
Even the oil she managed to extract, she adds, “has become pale… and flavorless.”
Despite the intervention of UNIFIL forces, in coordination with the Lebanese Army, to clear the roads and secure access for farmers to their fields amid fears of unexploded ordnance, no real support was provided to rescue the season.
Um Tarek says, “We didn’t receive any support—not from ministries nor from anyone responsible for agriculture.”
She confirms that the cost of labor exceeded the value of the entire harvest: “We worked, and we absorbed the loss on our own.”
Massive Losses in Meiss al-Jabal
The head of Meiss al-Jabal’s municipality, Habib Qabalan, confirms that all the town’s olive trees were either uprooted or completely damaged by Israeli attacks.
Some trees survived but bore no fruit, while many were burned, resulting in catastrophic losses—some fields contained more than 150 trees that were bulldozed and crushed.
Qabalan explains that the remaining trees are suffering from environmental stress due to drought, low rainfall, and war-related neglect.
He notes that olive cultivation requires continuous care, and it may take two additional years for the trees to bear fruit again.
He also notes that the municipality has not yet begun supporting the olive sector, as current efforts are focused on reopening roads, removing rubble, restoring electricity and water, and supporting education.
Agriculture, he says, will be addressed later.
The remaining trees are suffering from environmental damage
due to drought, low rainfall, and war-related neglect.
Qabalan adds that the farmers who were able to harvest did not face major obstacles thanks to coordination between the municipality, the Lebanese Army, and UNIFIL.
However, some areas near the Blue Line remain dangerous and difficult to access.
He describes the 2025 olive season as “illegitimate”, since the trees were not harvested in 2024—leading to a near-total collapse in production.
Farmers are now trying to restore their groves in hopes of a better season, despite the almost complete absence of governmental and official support, except for limited efforts from the South Council.
Farmers’ Syndicate: 2025 Is a “Year of Agricultural Setback”
For his part, Ibrahim Tarshishi, head of the Lebanese Farmers’ Syndicate, confirms that olive trees were “the most affected”, as the Israeli army deliberately burned them and targeted them with phosphorus.
He explains that Lebanese farmers are living through the worst conditions seen in fifty years due to war, drought, soaring production costs, and the collapse of export opportunities.
He adds: “The displacement of residents from border villages led to the neglect of what remained of their olive trees, as farmers were unable to care for them due to forced displacement.”
This neglect, combined with drought and scarce rainfall, resulted in a sharp decline in production—what he describes as “a year of agricultural setback.”
Olive trees were “the most affected”,
the Israeli army deliberately burned them and targeted them with phosphorus.
Tarshishi confirms that 2025 is a drought year across all agricultural sectors, especially olives.
He notes that current production does not exceed 50% of last year’s output.
However, he clarifies that this drop does not constitute a major crisis, since the quantities of olive oil remaining from the previous season are still sufficient to cover local market needs.
Regarding support and compensation, Tarshishi stresses that all announced plans to assist farmers have remained ink on paper.
He says the state is currently not in a position to offer any support or compensation for losses caused by Israeli attacks in the South or the Beqaa, describing the overall agricultural sector as “devastated.”
Tarshishi criticizes the performance of agricultural cooperatives, arguing that they fail to support farmers due to their weak administrative and financial capacity.
He calls on the Ministry of Agriculture to launch a national campaign to distribute olive saplings free of charge to affected farmers, emphasizing that this low-cost step could help revive the olive sector in the South.
More Than 10,800 Hectares Burned and 56,000 Trees Destroyed
These individual losses reflect a much larger catastrophe — an environmental collapse stretching across the entire southern border.
Farah Al-Hattab, campaign manager at Greenpeace MENA, expressed deep concern over the continuous destruction of agricultural ecosystems in southern Lebanon.
She warned that pollution caused by unexploded ordnance could worsen food security and biodiversity unless urgent measures are taken to rehabilitate the land.
Greenpeace reports that satellite images revealed massive fires sparked by intensive airstrikes and the use of incendiary weapons such as white phosphorus.
In 2024 alone, more than 10,800 hectares were burned — four times the area of Beirut and ten times the annual average — affecting Nabatieh and all of South Lebanon across a 120-kilometer border.
This destruction led to enormous economic losses, including 121 hectares and 56,000 olive trees, threatening nearly 36% of Lebanon’s olive production, in addition to a severe decline in tobacco crops in border villages, where half of local farmers live.
Satellite imagery revealed widespread fires
triggered by heavy airstrikes and the use of incendiary weapons.
Beyond the direct damage, unexploded ordnance poses a double threat to both humans and the environment.
More than 700,000 civilians are at risk, and heavy metals and toxic substances leaking from unexploded munitions contaminate soil and groundwater — deepening the agricultural crisis and hindering recovery.
The organization noted that assessing post-strike damage first requires the removal of unexploded ordnance to ensure safety before evaluation teams can enter.
Once secured, comprehensive surveys of soil and water are conducted to measure pollutant concentrations, alongside monitoring biodiversity to determine the ecological and agricultural impact of bombardment.
The Environmentally Devastated South
Greenpeace emphasized the need to accelerate damage assessment and rehabilitation efforts — both short- and long-term — to limit the deterioration of soil, water, agriculture, and to protect food security and communities in the South.
The organization stressed that restoring the agricultural environment requires a comprehensive approach rooted in sustainable reconstruction and community protection.
This means prioritizing systemic, long-term solutions beyond emergency relief — developing decentralized, sustainable agri-food systems, and linking landmine removal to scientific soil testing and environmental rehabilitation plans to ensure long-term agricultural productivity.
It also called for adopting the best available technologies, implementing environmental and social impact assessments, regulating resource extraction, protecting ecosystems, and enhancing transparency and community participation — ensuring that farmers play an active role in shaping recovery plans for a fair and sustainable future.
Restoring the agricultural environment requires a comprehensive approach grounded in sustainable reconstruction
Greenpeace believes that true recovery cannot be achieved without combining scientific knowledge with full community participation at every stage.
Removing environmental hazards, monitoring soil and water, and building sustainable agricultural systems are all fundamental pillars for protecting food security and environmental health.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), landmines and war remnants directly undermine sustainability by contaminating agricultural land and preventing farmers from accessing it — increasing food insecurity for nearly 60 million people worldwide, including in Lebanon.
Toxic substances leaking from these remnants seep into the soil and groundwater, weakening soil fertility and threatening food safety as crops absorb these toxins.
Between pollution caused by bombardment and the absence of any official plans for agricultural reconstruction, farmers find themselves fighting a double battle:
one against the consequences of war, and another against the negligence that prolongs their hardship.
With the state withdrawing from supporting this vital sector, the South is left to resist alone — restoring what remains of its livelihood with the sweat of its farmers and the patience of its land.
A harvest season that was once a rural celebration has now become an act of survival — a testament that this land, no matter how long the shelling continues or losses accumulate, cannot be defeated.
Every drop of oil pressed from charred branches carries the meaning of resilience, reminding us that life in the South goes on despite everything — and that its farmers are the guardians of the land’s legacy, planting hope amid the ashes of war.
