Lebanon says Israeli campaign damaged heritage sites in the south

The crown of an ancient column was blown off in Tyre’s Al-Bass Roman ruins during Israel’s nearly four-month air and ground campaign in southern Lebanon. Ghassan Salame said the campaign damaged or destroyed heritage sites, from Tyre’s ancient ruins to a Mamluk-era market in Nabatieh, and Lebanese officials still could not assess the full toll because Israeli troops held a roughly 10-kilometer zone inside Lebanon that remained off-limits.

In Tyre, a UNESCO-listed city built in part on an island and known for major Roman-era remains, metal debris lay at the Al-Bass Roman ruins after an airstrike. In another southern town, a pilgrimage site used by both Muslims and Christians was destroyed. In Nabatieh, the Mamluk-era market was pummeled, and centuries-old border towns were razed.

Tyre is a great Phoenician city with archaeological remains that make it one of the oldest metropolises in the world. In April 2026, UNESCO placed 39 cultural properties in Lebanon under provisional enhanced protection and provided more than $100,000 for emergency operations. UNESCO was working with Lebanon’s Directorate General of Antiquities on emergency measures to safeguard cultural heritage sites, and warned in May and June about verified damage to Chama’ Citadel, strikes near Beaufort Castle, and damage confirmed at Tyre, Beaufort Castle and Chama’ Citadel.

Under the 1954 Hague Convention system, cultural property under enhanced protection has the highest legal protection against attack and military use. ICOMOS Lebanon issued an urgent alert after strikes on June 7 at the entrance to Tyre, saying the site had recently been granted enhanced protection. The same week, UNESCO warned that strikes and mass evacuations were placing Tyre’s World Heritage property, its buffer zone and nearby protected sites at direct risk.

Salame visited Tyre’s archaeological sites on June 24, the first government minister to do so after the Israeli aggression.