Conflict leaves a Lebanese beekeeper cut off from most of his hives, in photos
Selim Sharaf, a beekeeper who has been unable to access most of his beehives caught in an area in southern Lebanon controlled by Israeli troops, inspects a beehive among his remaining hives in Hasbaya, southern Lebanon, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
HASBAYA, Lebanon (AP) — For nearly two years, beekeeper Selim Sharaf has been unable to reach about 150 of his 200 beehives near the southern Lebanese border village of Mari.
The hives remain in an area where Israeli troops are present, leaving Sharaf uncertain whether the colonies survived, were destroyed during the fighting or dispersed after being left unattended.
Honeybees crawl across frames inside a beehive belonging to beekeeper Selim Sharafa beekeeper who has been unable to access most of his beehives caught in an area in southern Lebanon controlled by Israeli troops, in Hasbaya, southern Lebanon, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Honeybees crawl across frames inside a beehive belonging to beekeeper Selim Sharafa beekeeper who has been unable to access most of his beehives caught in an area in southern Lebanon controlled by Israeli troops, in Hasbaya, southern Lebanon, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Selim Sharaf, a beekeeper who has been unable to access most of his beehives caught in an area in southern Lebanon controlled by Israeli troops, looks through a protective veil while tending to his remaining beehives in Hasbaya, southern Lebanon, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Selim Sharaf, a beekeeper who has been unable to access most of his beehives caught in an area in southern Lebanon controlled by Israeli troops, looks through a protective veil while tending to his remaining beehives in Hasbaya, southern Lebanon, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
The loss has crippled his honey production. Since the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah began, Sharaf says he has not harvested a meaningful honey crop, with his remaining hives producing little more than what the bees need to survive. Unable to access most of his colonies, he relocated about 50 hives to olive groves near his hometown of Hasbaya.
But the new location is far from ideal. With fewer flowering plants and less forage available, the bees struggle to thrive. As he tends the surviving colonies and inspects frames buzzing with bees, Sharaf worries that years of work building his beekeeping business may have been lost in the inaccessible border area. Empty hive boxes left behind near the frontier are a reminder that the fate of most of his colonies remains unknown.
Selim Sharaf, a beekeeper who has been unable to access most of his beehives caught in an area in southern Lebanon controlled by Israeli troops, walks through an olive grove near his beehives in Hasbaya, southern Lebanon, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Selim Sharaf, a beekeeper who has been unable to access most of his beehives caught in an area in southern Lebanon controlled by Israeli troops, walks through an olive grove near his beehives in Hasbaya, southern Lebanon, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Selim Sharaf, a beekeeper who has been unable to access most of his beehives caught in an area in southern Lebanon controlled by Israeli troops, carries his protective beekeeping suit beside his pickup truck in an olive grove where he relocated some of his remaining hives in Hasbaya, southern Lebanon, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Selim Sharaf, a beekeeper who has been unable to access most of his beehives caught in an area in southern Lebanon controlled by Israeli troops, carries his protective beekeeping suit beside his pickup truck in an olive grove where he relocated some of his remaining hives in Hasbaya, southern Lebanon, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Beehives belonging to Selim Sharaf, a beekeeper who has been unable to access most of his beehives caught in an area in southern Lebanon controlled by Israeli troops, are stacked outside his home in Hasbaya, southern Lebanon, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Beehives belonging to Selim Sharaf, a beekeeper who has been unable to access most of his beehives caught in an area in southern Lebanon controlled by Israeli troops, are stacked outside his home in Hasbaya, southern Lebanon, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Selim Sharaf, a beekeeper who has been unable to access most of his beehives caught in an area in southern Lebanon controlled by Israeli troops, holds a honeycomb frame from one of the remaining hives he relocated to Hasbaya, southern Lebanon, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Selim Sharaf, a beekeeper who has been unable to access most of his beehives caught in an area in southern Lebanon controlled by Israeli troops, holds a honeycomb frame from one of the remaining hives he relocated to Hasbaya, southern Lebanon, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Jars of honey and bee pollen are displayed at the home of beekeeper Selim Sharaf, who has been unable to access most of his beehives caught in an area in southern Lebanon controlled by Israeli troops, in Hasbaya, southern Lebanon, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Jars of honey and bee pollen are displayed at the home of beekeeper Selim Sharaf, who has been unable to access most of his beehives caught in an area in southern Lebanon controlled by Israeli troops, in Hasbaya, southern Lebanon, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Selim Sharaf, a beekeeper who has been unable to access most of his beehives caught in an area in southern Lebanon controlled by Israeli troops, holds jars of honey produced from his beehives at his home in Hasbaya, southern Lebanon, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Selim Sharaf, a beekeeper who has been unable to access most of his beehives caught in an area in southern Lebanon controlled by Israeli troops, holds jars of honey produced from his beehives at his home in Hasbaya, southern Lebanon, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
An empty beehive box sits beneath an olive tree on land where beekeeper Selim Sharaf relocated some of his remaining colonies after losing access to most of his hives near Lebanon’s southern border, in Hasbaya, southern Lebanon, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
An empty beehive box sits beneath an olive tree on land where beekeeper Selim Sharaf relocated some of his remaining colonies after losing access to most of his hives near Lebanon’s southern border, in Hasbaya, southern Lebanon, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Selim Sharaf, a beekeeper who has been unable to access most of his beehives caught in an area in southern Lebanon controlled by Israeli troops, stands beside jars of honey and bee pollen from the remaining hives he relocated to Hasbaya, southern Lebanon, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Selim Sharaf, a beekeeper who has been unable to access most of his beehives caught in an area in southern Lebanon controlled by Israeli troops, stands beside jars of honey and bee pollen from the remaining hives he relocated to Hasbaya, southern Lebanon, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
