Cultural Heritage Concerns During the 2024 Israeli Campaign in Lebanon

Baalbek is a large archaeological complex in eastern Lebanon containing the ruins of an ancient Roman town, including the temples of Jupiter and Bacchus, Roman mosaics, and Arab fortifications. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984.[3] Tyre, one of the Mediterranean's oldest cities, contains antiquities spanning from 5000 BCE to the 19th century, including a Crusader church, Roman baths, a Roman-Byzantine necropolis, and a second-century hippodrome. It also received UNESCO World Heritage designation in 1984.[2][8]

Tyre's archaeological ruins had previously been damaged by bombardment during Israeli military operations in 1982, 1996, and 2006.[2] The U.S. State Department's 2024 human-rights report dates the expanded Israeli airstrike campaign against Hezbollah to September 23 and the ground incursion in southern Lebanon to October 1. It records that Lebanon and Israel agreed to a cessation of hostilities on November 26.[1]

By November 2024, Britannica estimated that roughly one-fourth of the buildings in southern Lebanon had been destroyed or damaged.[9] The Jewish Virtual Library also relayed a Lebanese National News Agency report that more than 37 villages had been "wiped out" and more than 40,000 housing units destroyed, although neither source identified how many affected buildings were cultural-heritage properties.[10]

On October 23, 2024, the IDF called for people to evacuate an area of Tyre situated between the historic hippodrome, Roman baths, and Crusader-era ruins. It said it had conducted strikes on Hezbollah command-and-control centers in the area. The report documented the proximity of military activity to the archaeological zone but did not report physical damage to the ruins.[11]

On October 31, the United States urged Israel to protect civilian lives and cultural sites after airstrikes began on Baalbek and surrounding villages, with residents ordered to leave the city before the strikes.[12] On November 1, the UN Human Rights Office warned that airstrikes following an Israeli evacuation order had come very close to Baalbek's ancient Roman temple complex.[6] The office identified mosques in Yaroun, Maroun el-Ras, Blida, and Kfar Tibnit as destroyed or severely damaged and reported that a Melkite Greek Catholic church in Tyre had been damaged in early October. It noted that religious buildings and culturally significant sites are protected under international humanitarian law unless they become military objectives, and that proportionality and precaution requirements still apply.[6]

On November 6, Baalbek-Hermel governor Bachir Khodr said an Israeli missile had landed in the parking lot of Baalbek's Roman ruins. He described it as the closest raid on the temple complex since the war began and said the temple had not yet been inspected for damage. The report described footage of smoke rising from the impact site and noted that Israeli evacuation-warning maps included the Roman ruins.[4]

On November 7, local authorities reported that strikes in Baalbek had destroyed a heritage house and damaged a historic hotel near the Roman temples. Baalbek mayor Mustafa al-Shall said UNESCO and Lebanon's Directorate General of Antiquities were still expected to assess whether the ancient ruins had been affected.[5] Other reports relayed Lebanese claims of damage to the Dome of Duris, including possible structural harm and concerns about the stability of its ancient columns. They also reported strikes about 500 meters from the Baalbek temple complex, while distinguishing those nearby strikes from direct damage to the temples themselves.[7][8]

The same reports carried allegations that the historic market in Nabatieh had been destroyed and that a fortress in Tebnine had been attacked; these accounts were attributed to Lebanese officials or other media rather than independent assessors.[7][8] A separate report said strikes had also hit close to Tyre's Roman ruins.[5]

The Israeli military said operations around Baalbek and Tyre targeted Hezbollah command-and-control infrastructure and terrorists. Long War Journal reported the IDF's statement that it struck 110 targets on November 6 and 7 and Israel's estimate that the Baalbek strikes killed approximately 60 Hezbollah members. That account also said civilians had been called to evacuate.[13] Evacuation calls were issued before strikes in both Tyre and Baalbek, with the stated targeting rationale centered on Hezbollah's military presence.[11][13]

Ynet and Ynetnews presented the Israeli position that Hezbollah operated from historically sensitive locations and that the IDF exercised discretion when conducting strikes near sensitive structures. Their reports did not provide site-specific evidence sufficient to establish Hezbollah's use of each location discussed, and they also recorded Lebanon's rejection of the Israeli account.[7][8]

A Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs commentary described the Iran Park at Maroun al-Ras as a politically and religiously symbolic complex dedicated in 2010 during a visit by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The park included a statue of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, a replica of Jerusalem's Dome of the Rock, a museum, and observation towers. The commentary reported that the park was "razed" during Israel's operation in southern Lebanon and showed collapsed observation-tower roofs.[14]

The source did not identify the Iran Park as an officially designated archaeological or cultural-heritage site. Its account therefore concerns the reported destruction of a contemporary political monument associated with Iranian and Hezbollah influence rather than a formally designated ancient site.[14]

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati called for an immediate ceasefire to protect Lebanon's cultural heritage and the ancient sites at Baalbek and Tyre.[8] More than 100 Lebanese lawmakers appealed to UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay, identifying sites in Baalbek, Tyre, and Sidon as landmarks at risk. One report said UNESCO planned an extraordinary committee session for November 18 to consider enhanced protection and additional funding, while Ynet separately reported that a UNESCO meeting was expected on November 12.[5][8]

Lebanese Culture Minister Mohammad Mortada sent UNESCO a letter seeking protection for cultural sites. Lebanon's Ministry of Culture also announced that it was developing a restoration and rebuilding program with friendly countries and intended to establish a dedicated support fund.[8] Lebanon and Israel agreed to a cessation of hostilities on November 26, although the State Department reported that both countries alleged violations through the end of 2024.[1]

The reviewed sources documented threats to heritage sites, strikes close to archaeological zones, and reported damage to religious buildings and historic structures. They did not, however, provide a completed independent assessment confirming destruction of the principal ancient monuments at Baalbek or Tyre. On November 6, the Baalbek-Hermel governor said the Roman temple complex had not yet been inspected; on November 7, the mayor said UNESCO and Lebanese antiquities engineers were still expected to conduct an assessment.[4][5]

Claims involving the Dome of Duris, the Nabatieh market, and the Tebnine fortress were attributed to Lebanese officials or relayed from other media and were not independently verified in the reviewed reports.[7][8] Lebanese officials accused Israel of deliberately targeting cultural sites, while the IDF maintained that it struck Hezbollah military targets and exercised discretion around sensitive structures. The available reports did not provide site-specific evidence sufficient to resolve those competing claims.[7][8]

At a UN Security Council meeting on March 11, 2026, Russian representative Anna Evstigneeva stated that the previous Israeli campaign had caused serious damage to historical monuments in Lebanon, naming Baalbek and Tyre. Her statement did not identify particular monuments, dates of damage, or its extent and was a delegation's retrospective account rather than a detailed independent assessment.[15]