Fishing boats at the port, north of the Lebanese capital, were surrounded by a large oil slick while nearby beaches were also covered by the sticky fluid, an AFP correspondent at the scene said.

The pollution, which has killed fish and much of the marine life in the area, threatens a wider ecological catastrophe, Environment Minister Yacub Sarraf was quoted as saying by Beirut newspapers on Wednesday.

The minister and residents said the slick was caused by the destruction of fuel tanks at the power station of Jieh, further south, as well as a leak from an Egyptian commercial boat which was hit by a rocket off Beirut shores.

"The black slick appeared about seven or eight days ago and is becoming thicker by the day," Zalpha Sfeir, a resident of the resort town known for its Phoenician ruins and fish restaurants, told AFP.

"Since four days, all fish, crustaceans and crabs have blackened and are dying because of the black slick," she said.

"It will take six months to clean up everything, when the boats which are off the coast will stop dumping all their toxic liquids," she said.

Israeli launched a massive air, sea and ground offensive on Lebanon after Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers at the borders on July 12 to secure a prisoners' swap.

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