JERUSALEM (AP) – Israel closed all its Mediterranean beaches on Sunday until further notice, days after a foreign oil spill estimated to have laid dozens of tons of tar over 100 kilometers of coastline in what officials call one of the worst ecological disasters in the country. .
Activists began reporting balls of black tar off Israel’s coast last week after a severe storm washed the country’s petroleum products and devastated nature. According to Kan, Israeli public broadcaster, researchers at the Ministry of Agriculture’s country on Sunday determined that a dead young fin whale that washed up on a beach in southern Israel died from ingesting the viscous black liquid.
The Israeli Nature and Parks Authority called the spill “one of the most serious ecological disasters” in the country’s history. In 2014, a crude oil spill in the Arava desert caused major damage to one of the country’s delicate ecosystems.
The exact cause of the spill is yet to be determined and is currently being investigated by Israeli environmental officials.
Volunteers went to the beaches on Saturday to clean up the tar, and several were admitted to hospital after inhaling toxic fumes.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection, Health and Home Affairs issued a joint statement on Sunday, warning the public not to visit the entire length of the 195 km (120 miles) Mediterranean coastline and warning that ‘exposure to tar could be harmful for public health. ‘
Environmental Protection Minister Gila Gamliel told Hebrew media that her department estimates that the clean-up project will cost ten million shekels.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu toured one of the country’s tarmac beaches on Sunday, praising the ministry’s work.
The ministry did not immediately respond to requests for an interview.