The Israel Nature and Parks Authority described this event as one of the biggest environmental disasters in the country’s history.
Non-governmental organizations reported that oiled tortoises and dead birds were found on the beaches.
There is concern that clumps of tar will take months or even years to clear.
Thousands of volunteers and soldiers are participating in the work initiated to clean the beaches.
In addition, the public was asked to stay away from the beaches.
It is not yet known where the tar lumps came from. Israeli officials are pondering the possibility that these substances came from a ship.
It is stated that the source of the tar may have been discharged during the storm on February 11 from a ship that passed approximately 50 kilometers off.
Satellite images and wave models are used to track the ship in charge.
Environmental Protection Minister Gila Gamliel announced that nine ships were investigated.
The Israeli government is considering taking legal action to obtain compensation, which can amount to millions of dollars.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also came to one of the beaches hit by tar lumps and conducted a damage investigation.
A 17-meter-long fin whale shot dead on a beach in southern Israel on Thursday.
The Israel Nature and Parks Authority said that the autopsy of the whale detected a black petroleum-based liquid.
However, one official said it was too early to say whether the liquid detected in the whale came from the same source as the tar that hit the beach.
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