Israel Shuts Mediterranean Shore after Oil Devastates Coast

Israel Shuts Mediterranean Shore after Oil Devastates Coast

A clump of tar is seen on the sand an after an offshore oil spill drenched much of Israel's Mediterranean shoreline with tar, at a beach in Ashdod, southern Israel February 21, 2021. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Israel closed all its Mediterranean beaches until further notice on Sunday, days after an offshore oil spill deposited an estimated dozens of tons of tar across more than 100 miles of coastline.

Activists began reporting globs of black tar on Israel's coast last week after a heavy storm washed the petroleum byproducts ashore, wreaking havoc on wildlife.

Researchers with the country's Agriculture Ministry determined Sunday that a 17-meter-long dead young fin whale that washed up on a beach in southern Israel died from ingesting the viscous black liquid, according to Kan, Israel's public broadcaster.

Together with European agencies, Israel was looking as a possible source at a Feb. 11 oil spill from a ship passing about 50 km (21 miles) from shore. Satellite images and modelling of wave movements were helping to narrow the search.

Israel's Nature and Parks Authority has called the spill "one of the most serious ecological disasters“ in the country's history.

Volunteers took to the beaches on Saturday to help clean up the tar, and several were