A massive fireball burst into the sky over Beirut’s southern suburbs, followed by a thick column of black smoke rising above residential buildings, before the sound of the explosion echoed across the city. This was not just another blast in a series of strikes that Israel “may warn about” before carrying them out on Beirut, its southern suburbs, the South, and the Bekaa, since the war expanded and failed to end despite the ceasefire agreement in November 2024. These strikes do not only cause material destruction; they also generate polluted clouds that extend beyond the boundaries drawn by the Israeli army’s Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, threatening both the environment and public health.

The Smell of War

“I feel short of breath, and I’ve lost my voice,” says Lama, a resident of the city, speaking to Daraj, describing how the smell of fire and gunpowder spread after the flames subsided following one of the airstrikes. Columns of smoke weigh heavily over the skies of cities, while Hadi describes Beirut from his distant home as a city covered by a “cloud of black dust.”

A report by the Conflict and Environment Observatory indicates that bombardment in Iran, Lebanon, and the Gulf countries often occurs near densely populated urban centers, significantly increasing the risk of civilian exposure to conflict-related pollutants, whether through inhaling contaminated air or through the accumulation of toxic substances in water, soil, and food chains.

Israeli airstrikes on the night of March 11–12, 2026 ignited fires in neighborhoods of Beirut’s southern suburbs, as shown in videos circulated on social media. A building in Bashoura and another in Salim Salam were also targeted, with smoke blanketing both densely populated areas.

The following day, dust blanketed the skies over Beirut and its southern suburbs, while a thick layer settled on cars and rooftops, driven by strong winds exceeding 80 km/h, before rain fell later. These weather conditions contributed to the re-dispersion of dust and pollutants resulting from fires and explosions across the city.

Footage published after the airstrike on Haret Hreik on the night of March 15–16 shows a dense cloud of smoke rising toward the northeast, in the direction of Beirut, highlighting how pollutants can spread beyond the immediate strike location.

“300% I got cancer from the smell of gunpowder,” “The smell of gunpowder is deadly,” “The smell of gunpowder in Dahieh is very strong,” “The smell of gunpowder in Beirut is very disturbing”… this is how residents expressed their suffering on social media. Fires at targeted military sites release fuels, oils, heavy metals, explosives, and long-lasting toxic chemicals. These fires also produce highly toxic compounds such as dioxins, which are linked to hormonal disorders, weakened immunity, developmental and reproductive problems, and an increased risk of cancer.

Since the early days of the bombardment, the smell of gunpowder has spread across the surroundings of Beirut’s southern suburbs, reaching as far as the outskirts of Hazmieh, near City Center, approximately 3.5 to 4 kilometers from the heart of the southern suburbs, beyond the scope of Adraee’s warnings.

Before the airstrike that targeted a residential building on the night of March 17–18, 2026 in Bashoura, Adraee had instructed residents to keep a distance of 300 meters. However, the smell reached Burj Abi Haidar, a densely populated area about 850 meters away. “During the last war, there was a strike near me in Nweiri, in Basta, but it didn’t smell like this… This is the first time we’ve smelled it this way. We had the windows slightly open. My son has allergies, he kept holding his shirt over his nose,” says Farah, a resident of the area.

The “Safe Distance” Standard

“You must evacuate these buildings and move at least 300 meters away, as shown on the map,” says the Israeli army’s Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, in warnings issued to residents ahead of some strikes. At times, the red circle on his maps is expanded to reach up to 1,000 meters.

The Institute for Science and International Security at the University of Toronto estimates that between 10 and 30 percent of global environmental degradation is directly linked to military activities. Assessing the impact of bombardment with explosive weapons is not limited to the moment of detonation and the immediate human casualties it causes, as evacuation warnings and distancing measures like those announced by Adraee may suggest. Such warnings, when issued, may save lives at the moment of impact, but they do not protect residents from the air they breathe afterward.

The United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research confirms that environmental damage itself is a key indicator of the scale of civilian suffering during armed conflicts. Its studies show that the “reverberating effects” of explosive weapons can persist for decades after wars end, turning strike sites into long-term sources of pollution that threaten both public health and the environment even after military operations cease. In this sense, advance evacuation warnings do not provide “effective protection” for civilians from the invisible consequences of bombardment, which can spread through air, water, and soil far beyond the immediate strike location.

According to the Conflict and Environment Observatory (CEOBS), fuel containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was found during debris removal in Beirut’s southern suburbs after the July 2006 war. These toxic substances are known to cause cancer as well as respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. They are believed to have originated from small electrical generators damaged during the bombardment. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were also detected in some samples, likely due to damage to electrical transformers and capacitors. These compounds are classified as persistent organic pollutants, known for their ability to remain in the environment for long periods and accumulate in living tissues. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified them as carcinogenic to humans.

Pollution Is Not Limited to Buildings Marked in Red

The impact of bombardment does not stop at the buildings marked in red on military maps. Destruction extends beyond them through dust, debris, and airborne pollutants. Numerous studies have examined the environmental and public health effects of building demolition. Although not conducted in the context of armed conflict, they provide insight into the potential environmental and health consequences.

According to the United Nations Development Programme’s 2020 construction and demolition waste assessment, debris generated from destroyed buildings varies depending on the type of structure. Industrial warehouses typically produce waste equivalent to 5 to 15 percent of the building’s volume, as do schools and commercial buildings such as offices and banks. Fully destroyed residential buildings, however, generate debris amounting to 25 to 35 percent of their volume.

This rubble becomes a major source of air pollution. Studies have shown that demolishing older buildings releases large quantities of dust contaminated with lead. Its concentration in the air can increase more than fortyfold during demolition and about sixfold during debris removal. The destruction of buildings also generates fine particles that can travel long distances with the wind and remain suspended in the air for days, exposing nearby populations to serious health risks, including respiratory diseases such as asthma and lung cancer, as well as cardiovascular conditions.

Rubble is not merely stone. It is a complex mixture of construction materials, chemicals, and electronic components that may be flammable or explosive. When concrete, bricks, metals, electrical appliances, and plastics are shattered, the debris becomes a continuous source of toxic dust and airborne pollutants.

Recent strikes have occurred near civilian facilities containing materials and equipment that may become additional sources of pollution when damaged. These include electronics shops and beauty centers that house medical and technical devices such as laser hair removal machines, which may release toxic substances like lead and mercury. Evacuation maps published by Adraee have also included facilities and health centers such as medical laboratories and dental clinics in the city of Tyre, a medical center in the town of Mashghara in the Bekaa, pharmacies in Mazraat al-Aqbiyah, fuel stations in Toul, and an industrial tools factory in Deir al-Zahrani. Damage to such sites could result in the release of chemical, medical, or fuel-related substances into the surrounding environment.

Bombardment does not only lead to the collapse of buildings themselves. It also affects what they contain, including household appliances, cooling systems, air conditioners, electrical generators, and fuel tanks that may be flammable or explosive, releasing a complex mix of pollutants when destroyed or burned.

Field footage illustrates the scale of this destruction and the additional risks it entails. In a report by journalist Ibrahim Al-Gharib on Al Jadeed TV, large numbers of solar panels were seen destroyed in the town of Nabi Chit in the Bekaa. Another video shows a fire breaking out in a building in the Shura neighborhood in Dahieh following a strike, while footage from Haret Hreik shows severed electrical wires hanging among the rubble, indicating the extent of damage to civilian infrastructure and the environmental and health hazards that may follow.

Health experts warn that demolition dust resulting from the destruction of buildings poses a serious threat to public health, as it may release highly toxic substances such as asbestos, heavy metals, and crystalline silica, according to Associate Professor Mughe Ansari Ozay, an expert in occupational health and safety at Üsküdar University.

Asbestos is a fibrous mineral that was widely used in insulation materials, roofing, and pipes in older buildings. As Samer Khalil, an environmental management specialist and member of the Waste Management Coalition, previously explained to Daraj, when these materials break, asbestos fibers are released, and inhaling them can cause severe and potentially fatal diseases.

Crystalline silica, a key component of dust resulting from breaking concrete, bricks, and stone, can lead to silicosis, a permanent and incurable lung disease. The risks are not limited to these substances. In rare cases, radiation may also be released, particularly when medical or industrial facilities that used radioactive sources are destroyed.

Doug Weir, Director of the Conflict and Environment Observatory, emphasizes that monitoring civilian exposure to pollutants and conducting health studies during armed conflicts is extremely difficult, yet essential. Researchers have managed to carry out such studies in previous conflicts, but doing so in Lebanon faces major challenges. Security conditions and limited access to strike sites hinder the collection of environmental and health samples.

Despite the National Council for Scientific Research launching a digital platform to track the war in Lebanon, public health guidance for residents remains largely absent, leaving civilians without sufficient information about conflict-related health risks. This underscores the need for comprehensive emergency plans that include monitoring the environmental impact of conflict.

According to the World Health Organization, Lebanon’s Ministry of Environment operated around 15 air quality monitoring stations between 2013 and 2017, but they stopped functioning in 2019 due to lack of funding. The ministry has announced that Beirut’s air quality monitoring network is expected to be reactivated by summer 2026, a crucial step given the urgent need for reliable pollution data, especially during times of war.

The Environment as Part of Civilian Protection in Armed Conflict

The Israeli army claimed it targeted a weapons depot belonging to Hezbollah’s aerial unit in Beirut’s southern suburbs. However, classifying a site as a legitimate military target does not absolve parties from their legal obligations during an attack.

Under Articles 35 and 55 of the 1977 Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions, causing widespread, long-term damage to the natural environment is prohibited. The principle of proportionality requires balancing anticipated military advantage against potential harm, including environmental damage affecting civilians. Targeting weapons depots, for instance, may release toxic chemical compounds that contaminate air, water, and soil, posing long-term health risks to the population.

International humanitarian law, in its current form, focuses primarily on protecting civilians from direct violence during armed conflicts, but it does not adequately address invisible threats such as long-term pollution. War does not only destroy buildings; it contaminates the environment that people depend on for survival. This highlights the need to rethink how environmental harm is addressed during conflicts, treating it as an integral part of civilian protection rather than merely a side effect of military operations.

In this context, international calls are growing for the adoption of what is referred to as a “Fifth Geneva Convention,” a proposal aimed at closing gaps in international humanitarian law by strengthening environmental protection as a core element of civilian security and survival.