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Culture minister: Israeli attacks devastate South Lebanon’s heritage

Al Mayadeen | June 28, 2026

“Israel’s” military aggression in southern Lebanon has damaged or destroyed heritage sites across the region, including UNESCO-listed landmarks, historic towns, religious sites, and archaeological monuments, Lebanon’s Culture Minister Ghassan Salame told Reuters, warning that authorities have yet to assess the full extent of the destruction due to the continued Israeli military presence in parts of southern Lebanon.

According to Salame, Israeli forces remain stationed in an approximately 10-kilometer-deep zone inside southern Lebanon despite the ceasefire that came into effect a week ago, preventing officials from conducting comprehensive damage assessments. “We cannot work under the shadow of occupation,” he said.

The occupied zone includes the medieval Beaufort Castle and centuries-old border villages that were home to Christian, Shiite Muslim, and Sunni Muslim communities, along with their places of worship. Salame said entire villages had been erased, adding, “There are villages that have been completely bulldozed.”

Beyond the occupied areas, Israeli airstrikes also struck historic cities including Tyre, Nabatieh, and Tebnin. Salame expressed concern that Tebnin’s Crusader-era fortress may have sustained damage during the bombardment.

“Heritage is not only Roman and Phoenician antiquities,” Salame said. “Heritage is also historic buildings, archaeological sites, and buildings with a cultural function.”

Among the sites affected was the UNESCO World Heritage city of Tyre, where a crown was blown off an ancient Roman column. A pilgrimage site revered by both Muslims and Christians was reportedly destroyed in another southern town, while Israeli strikes heavily damaged the Mamluk-era market in Nabatieh and razed centuries-old villages along the border.

In response to Reuters‘ questions, the Israeli military said it does not seek “to cause excessive damage to civilian infrastructure and strikes only out of military necessity, with consideration for the safety of its citizens.” It added that operations involving “sensitive sites” undergo “a rigorous approval process as required.”

The Israeli military has also accuse

Modern-day Lebanon contains archaeological and historical sites reflecting civilizations including the Phoenicians, Byzantines, Mamluks, and Crusaders. Tyre, whose origins date back nearly 5,000 years, remains one of the country’s most significant cultural landmarks and is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Following months of Israeli bombardment, large parts of Tyre have been reduced to rubble. Protective barriers erected around the archaeological site to shield it from strikes and debris were themselves destroyed during the attacks.

“Look at the damage that happened to it, it’s as if it all exploded from underneath, as if an earthquake hit it,” Adnan Istanbouli of Lebanon’s antiquities department told Reuters while inspecting damage near a Roman mosaic.

Tyre’s Deputy Mayor Alwan Charafeddine said the city should have been protected under international conventions.

“It is supposed to be one of the cities that is internationally protected, or that should never be targeted in any way, in any conflict,” he said.

UNESCO voices concern over cultural destruction

Last month, UNESCO expressed concern over the condition of Tyre, which is listed as a World Heritage Site under enhanced protection status. The agency also said it was “deeply alarmed” by reports of damage to a citadel in the southern town of Chama and by fighting around Beaufort Castle, while condemning what it described as “unlawful attacks against cultural property.”

Following Israeli strikes on Tyre, Salame requested that UNESCO classify the city as a World Heritage Site in Danger, a designation that would trigger additional international protection measures. The request has not yet been approved.

Salame also pointed to earlier remarks by Israeli War Minister Israel Katz, who said during the conflict that Israeli forces would destroy all houses along Lebanon’s border.

Warning of the long-term consequences, Salame said the destruction threatens to erase centuries of Lebanon’s cultural identity.

“There is something systematic: a systematic destruction of villages, hamlets, and entire towns,” he told Reuters.

June 28, 2026 - Posted by aletho | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Timeless or most popular, War Crimes | Israel, Lebanon, Zionism