A missile strike that hit the ancient, Unesco-protected city of Tyre, in southwest Lebanon, on Friday (6 March) damaged the perimeter of one of its major archaeological sites, according to the country\u2019s culture ministry. At least one person was killed in the attack, according to state media and AFP.<\/p>\n
The strike hit the ancient ruins district of Tyre, one of the world\u2019s oldest continuously inhabited cities with significant, predominantly Roman, archaeological sites. <\/p>\n
According to the Lebanese ministry of culture\u2019s Facebook page<\/a>, the entrance of the Al-Bass archaeological site in Tyre suffered \u201cmaterial damage\u201d because of the strike. Lebanon\u2019s culture minister Ghassan Salam\u00e9 said in the statement that \u201cthere is no military or security presence in the sites and such an argument cannot be used to bomb or harm them\u201d.<\/p>\n The 6 March strike came on the fifth day of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. It also occurred two days after Salam\u00e9 called Unesco\u2019s director general, Khaled El-Enany, demanding intervention to protect Lebanese cultural heritage during the ongoing US\/Israeli bombing of his country.<\/p>\n According to culture ministry\u2019s Facebook page, Salam\u00e9 asked El-Enany \u201cto intervene with neighboring states or belligerent parties to remind them of the need to take all preventive measures, during this armed conflict with Lebanon, to protect and preserve Lebanese cultural heritage and refrain from targeting it, including the National Museum of Beirut as well as the Lebanese archaeological and historical sites, especially those listed on the Unesco World Heritage List\u201d.<\/p>\n According to the post, El-Anany assured him that he was \u201cfollowing this emergency situation with the greatest vigilance\u201d and that Unesco was \u201cfully mobilised in order to provide Lebanon with the required support in the areas within the mandate of the organisation\u201d.<\/p>\n Lebanese heritage sites have been regarded as being at heightened risk since Israel\u2019s intense bombing campaign in late 2024. In November that year, Unesco placed 34 cultural sites under enhanced protection. As the current bombing campaign continues in Lebanon, the ancient Roman sites of Baalbek in the Bekaa Valley and Tyre in the south are under particular threat.<\/p>\n On 23 October 2024 Israeli airstrikes destroyed large swathes of Tyre and one strike landed 50 metres from the ancient ruins. The airstrikes killed at least two people, caused mass evacuations, and damaged 400 apartments. They also came close to a coastal group of ancient Phoenician and Crusader ruins.<\/p>\n In November of the same year, Israeli strikes destroyed a centuries-old Ottoman building just metres from Baalbek.<\/p>\n