Lebanon says Israeli attacks damaged 22.5% of its agricultural land, with 56,000 hectares directly affected

Israeli attacks have directly affected about 56,000 hectares of agricultural land in Lebanon, equivalent to 22.5% of the country’s farmland, Agriculture Minister Nizar Hani said in an interview with Anadolu.

Hani said around 52,000 hectares of the affected land were in the South and Nabatieh governorates, with another 4,000 hectares in Baalbek-Hermel.

He said the damage extended beyond crops, with Lebanon losing more than 30,000 beehives and around 70% of livestock in southern Lebanon during the conflict.

Large areas planted with olives and tobacco were also damaged. Southern Lebanon accounts for about 70% of the country’s citrus production and 90% of its banana output, according to Hani.

The minister said around 24,000 hectares of olive-growing land in the south had been directly affected, while another 750 hectares were removed from agricultural production after Israeli forces bulldozed farmland and uprooted olive trees.

Hani also said Israel used white phosphorus during the war and sprayed areas near the border, particularly forested land, with the herbicide glyphosate.

He said tests conducted by Lebanese authorities through the end of 2025 on soil, crops, forests and water remained within levels he described as “under control,” but renewed fighting and continued Israeli control of some areas had prevented teams from conducting fresh tests at several locations.