Lebanese authorities have accused Israeli military aircraft of spraying glyphosate, a herbicide linked to cancer, over farmland and villages in southern Lebanon at concentrations up to 30 times higher than normal agricultural use.
The incident, which took place on the morning of February 5, 2026, has drawn condemnation from Lebanon’s president, alarm from United Nations peacekeepers, and warnings from environmental groups about long-term damage to soil, food security and the ability of displaced families to return home. The Israel Defense Forces have not commented on the allegations.
What Lebanese Authorities Found
Lebanon’s ministries of agriculture and environment said laboratory tests confirmed the sprayed substance was glyphosate, a widely used chemical that destroys vegetation. Samples collected from affected areas near the Blue Line, including the villages of Aita al-Shaab, Ramieh and Marwanieh, showed concentrations between 20 and 30 times the levels considered acceptable for normal use.
In a joint statement, the two ministries said the spraying would “damage vegetation in the targeted areas, with direct repercussions on agricultural production, soil fertility and ecological balance.” They described the aerial operation as “a serious act of aggression that threatens food security, inflicts severe damage on natural resources, and undermines the livelihoods of farmers.”
President Joseph Aoun condemned it as “an environmental and health crime” and a violation of Lebanese sovereignty. He vowed to take “all necessary legal and diplomatic measures to confront this aggression.” Lebanon’s foreign ministry said it would file a formal complaint with the UN Security Council.
UNIFIL, the UN peacekeeping force stationed in southern Lebanon, confirmed it had received advance notification from the Israeli military of a planned aerial operation involving what Israel described as a non-toxic chemical substance. Peacekeepers were advised to take cover and were forced to cancel planned operations as a result.
UNIFIL said this was not the first time Israeli forces had dropped unknown chemical substances from aircraft over Lebanese territory. The force expressed deep concern about the long-term damage to agriculture and the prospects for displaced families returning to their homes.
Why This Matters for Farmers and Families
Southern Lebanon is heavily agricultural. Olive groves, tobacco fields and orchards form the backbone of local livelihoods. The region is still recovering from the 2023โ24 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which killed an estimated 4,000 people, injured 17,000 and displaced 1.2 million.
Ramzi Kaiss, a researcher with Human Rights Watch in Lebanon, said the spraying deepens an already serious crisis. “These areas are heavily dependent on agriculture โ olive groves, tobacco, and other crops โ and this incident complicates people’s ability to return to their homes, maintain their livelihoods, and rebuild after extensive destruction,” he said.
Hisham Younes, founder and president of Green Southerners, a Lebanese environmental group, warned the impact would be severe and lasting. “This spraying does not take place over an intact ecosystem or healthy soil,” he said. “It occurs over land already severely stressed and degraded by the intensive use of white phosphorus, incendiary munitions and the accumulation of heavy-metal residues from sustained bombardment.”
Younes added that glyphosate poses a direct threat to pollinators. “The use of glyphosate compounds adds another layer of pressure on insect communities and pollinators, with direct and immediate repercussions for an already devastated agricultural sector.”
How Dangerous Is Glyphosate?
There is no universal scientific consensus. The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans,” citing links to non-Hodgkin lymphoma. However, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the European Food Safety Authority have both concluded it is unlikely to pose a carcinogenic risk to humans at normal exposure levels.
The dispute over glyphosate’s long-term health risks means the human cost of the Lebanon spraying โ at concentrations far above standard use, remains difficult to fully quantify.
Will There Be Accountability?
Lebanon has pledged to pursue legal and diplomatic action. The foreign ministry’s planned complaint to the UN Security Council is the most direct route, though such complaints rarely produce binding outcomes. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization reported in April 2025 that the 2024 conflict had already caused more than $700 million in damage to Lebanon’s agricultural sector.
Israel has not responded to requests for comment from multiple outlets. Without an official Israeli explanation for the spraying, the full purpose of the operation remains unclear.
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