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Tunisia’s Navy Leads Operations to Avoid Environmental Disaster Off Gabes

Men stand next to a boat on a beach as a military boat is seen in the background off the coast of Gabes, where a merchant fuel ship sank. [Zoubeir Souissi/Reuters]
Men stand next to a boat on a beach as a military boat is seen in the background off the coast of Gabes, where a merchant fuel ship sank. [Zoubeir Souissi/Reuters]
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Tunisia’s Navy Leads Operations to Avoid Environmental Disaster Off Gabes

Men stand next to a boat on a beach as a military boat is seen in the background off the coast of Gabes, where a merchant fuel ship sank. [Zoubeir Souissi/Reuters]
Men stand next to a boat on a beach as a military boat is seen in the background off the coast of Gabes, where a merchant fuel ship sank. [Zoubeir Souissi/Reuters]

A team of divers from the Tunisian navy completed inspecting the hull of a tanker loaded with 750 tons of fuel that sank off southeast Tunisia, the presidency said in a statement on Monday.

It was able to determine the areas that require rapid intervention and ensured the fuel shipment is still sealed, the statement added.

The operation was carried out in cooperation with all relevant authorities, especially the ministries of environment and transportation, as well as local authorities in Gabes.

The statement affirmed that the leaked fuel observed on the surface of the waters off the Tunisian coast came from the engines of the ship that sunk on Friday and was in limited quantity.

Meanwhile, local suspicions are growing about the procrastination in leaving Tunisia’s coast and exposing the ship to sink to obtain compensation from insurance companies.

Former Minister of State Property Mabrouk Kourchid said this ship appeared to be sailing with forged documents after preliminary investigations revealed it does not have a shipping certificate.

Kourchid further pointed that it changed the flag of the African country it raised upon sailing.

“Evidence shows that it is a fuel smuggling operation, and the smugglers sank it.”

He said the Tunisian authorities will be held partly responsible for allowing “a rogue ship without legal documents to enter its territorial waters.”

Meanwhile, Tunisia said some countries have offered to help it prevent damage to the environment.

Italy announced sending two ships, helicopters and an underwater drone to help Tunisia.

The Italian army sent the equipment to monitor and control any oil leakage, Italy’s official news agency reported.

The Equatorial Guinea-flagged Xelo began taking water around seven kilometers (over four miles) offshore in the Gulf of Gabes and the engine room was engulfed, according to a Tunisian environment ministry statement.

Tunisian authorities rescued the seven-member crew, who received first aid and were being accommodated in a hotel.

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Israel Wages ‘Psychological War’ on Residents of Southern Lebanon

Lebanese inspect damage from an Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs. AP
Lebanese inspect damage from an Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs. AP
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Israel Wages ‘Psychological War’ on Residents of Southern Lebanon

Lebanese inspect damage from an Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs. AP
Lebanese inspect damage from an Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs. AP

Residents of southern Lebanon say they are living under the constant shadow of an Israeli “psychological war,” as drones hover overhead, sound bombs explode near villages, and airstrikes fuel a growing climate of fear across the border region.

While Israeli air raids and ground incursions have escalated in recent weeks, locals in towns such as Mays al-Jabal, Hula, and Kfar Kila report an additional, subtler kind of assault: one that aims not to destroy buildings, but to break spirits.

“Drones don’t leave our skies,” Mohammad, a resident of Bint Jbeil, told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“Explosions near homes, constant buzzing, and open threats on Israeli media – it’s designed to keep people afraid.”

The psychological toll has been mounting. Sound bombs were dropped in Hula on Wednesday, while Israeli forces crossed the border near the village of Tufa, setting fire to a truck clearing rubble.

In the town of Mansouri, a man was injured by an Israeli drone strike and hospitalized in nearby Tyre. In a separate incident, a man in his thirties was wounded by unexploded ordnance.

Israel’s tactics, residents say, aim to paralyze daily life and force displacement.

“This is more than a military campaign. It’s a war on the mind,” said former Mays al-Jabal mayor Abdel Moneim Shuqair, noting that only around 500 residents have returned to the town out of a pre-escalation population of 7,000.

Movement in the south has become increasingly perilous. Roads like the one linking Maroun al-Ras to Bint Jbeil are now considered too risky to travel.

“People avoid them because they’re completely exposed to Israeli surveillance. Any moment, a car could be targeted,” Shuqair told Asharq Al-Awsat.

On that note, Mohammed added that Israel doesn’t just want locals to leave; it wants to break their will to return.

In Kfar Kila, resident Mona Awadah described fleeing her home after it was targeted. Her husband survived the attack, but their home was no longer safe.

“We were one of the first families to return after the truce,” she said. “We put up a prefabricated home on our farmland, but even that was targeted. It’s as if they’re saying: you’re not safe anywhere – not even on your own land.”

Locals say the absence of a comprehensive state-led reconstruction plan is exacerbating their sense of abandonment. Efforts to rebuild homes or install mobile housing units have reportedly drawn further Israeli strikes. Some families have taken shelter in public schools, sleeping on makeshift bedding.

“There’s no alternative for us but this country and this army,” said Shuqair. “We need a clear stance from the state and a serious plan for a safe and dignified return,” he added.

As fear becomes routine, some residents warn of an even more dangerous development – adaptation. “The biggest danger is that people are starting to get used to the emptiness,” said Mohammad. “That’s what the occupation wants – for us to forget our land.”