Sue Surkes is The Times of Israel's environment reporter.
People clean tar from an oil spill in the Mediterranean sea in Gador nature reserve near Hadera, Israel, on Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
The government on Sunday advised Israelis to avoid all Mediterranean beaches from north to south due to pollution from a tar spill that has reached the coastline.
The warning came following a massive oil spill off the coast, which is suspected to have resulted in the death of many sea creatures, including a whale whose body washed up to the Israeli shore on Thursday. Some officials have called it the worst environmental disaster to hit Israel for years.