Legacy of conflict in South Lebanon’s soils

Country: Lebanon Source: Amel Association International Please refer to the attached files. Executive summary This report presents the results of a pilot soil monitoring campaign conducted in August 2025 in the Governorate of Nabatieh, South Lebanon. This project – a collaboration between Amel Italia, Amel Association International, and Source International – was initiated in response to widespread concerns among local communities regarding the long-term environmental impacts of the Israeli attacks that began in October 2023. During the August 2025 campaign, we collected 40 topsoil samples across the Marjaayoun and Nabatieh Districts. Results were compared with soil samples collected in 2001 from the same area and with international soil guidelines from Germany and Canada. Across the study area, we observed a statistically significant increase in several metals commonly associated with warfare from 2001 to 2025. Among other metals, lead, antimony, copper, and zinc – well-established markers of military activity – showed clear enrichment across the years. While the median increases were generally moderate, a small number of sites emerged as contamination hotspots, with concentrations far exceeding both historical baselines and international guidelines. Overall, our results reveal a pattern of diffuse, low-to-moderate contamination at the regional scale overlaid by hotspots with markedly elevated metal concentrations – a spatial pattern consistent with observations from other post-conflict settings. In contrast, we found no substantial evidence of soil contamination that can be uniquely attributed to the use of white phosphorus. All proxies of white phosphorus analyzed so far have shown no systematic differences between 2001 and 2025, nor between sites with confirmed white phosphorus strikes and other locations. On the other hand, some sites suspected to be affected by white phosphorus strikes displayed a clear signature of war-related metal contamination. Together, these findings confirm previous investigations suggesting that white phosphorus residues and their degradation products are transient and that the long-term environmental impacts are likely dominated by the toxic metals co-released during explosions, not by white phosphorus itself. Likewise, analysis of total uranium revealed no significant differences between 2001 and 2025. Strong correlations between uranium and phosphorus further support a geogenic, rather than anthropogenic, origin. These results are consistent with a previous national assessment that found no evidence of depleted uranium use in Lebanon. Overall, this first assessment shows a moderate but widespread deterioration of soil quality in South Lebanon over the past two decades. While most sites show limited exceedances, a small number of contamination hotspots pose potential environmental and public-health concerns and warrant priority attention. The findings highlight the need for continued, systematic soil monitoring, targeted investigations at hotspot locations, and integration of environmental assessments into post-conflict recovery and land-use planning.

Read full story on Reliefweb