Lebanese conservationist Mona Khalil dies from injuries in southern Lebanon fighting between Israel and Hezbollah

Mona Khalil died Friday at the American University of Beirut Medical Center from injuries she sustained in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon on June 4, her close friend Fadia Jomaa said. Khalil had protected endangered sea turtles that laid eggs on a beach near her bed-and-breakfast for more than two decades, keeping predators away from hatchlings as they made their way to the Mediterranean Sea.

Her work brought together often opposing interests and earned respect among conservationists.

She remained committed to the effort even as periodic war erupted around her in southern Lebanon. On June 4, the fighting between the Israeli military and Hezbollah caught up to her. "Inside, I am angry," Amal Khalil said.

Hezbollah is the Iran-backed armed group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon. The fighting has threatened to upend a fragile peace agreement between the United States and Iran.

Khalil was born to Lebanese parents in Lagos, Nigeria. She later moved to the Netherlands, where she lived for more than a decade and worked for a time as a porcelain restorer.