A Lebanese culture ministry official told French news agency AFP on Monday that an Israeli bombardment had damaged a UNESCO World Heritage site in the southern city of Tyre, as correspondents there reported damage to the site.
One of the oldest cities on the Mediterranean coast, Tire was at various times Phoenician, Persian, Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine in ancient times.
The city is located about 19 kilometers from Lebanon’s southern border with Israel. The UNESCO World Heritage-listed ruins include the remains of Roman baths, as well as a 2nd-century triumphal arch and hippodrome.
The Israeli military has heavily attacked Tire and the state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported further Israeli bombings on Sunday after the Israeli army issued an evacuation warning for districts, including one of the archaeological areas, the so-called city site.
Ali Badawi, regional director for archaeological sites in southern Lebanon for the Culture Ministry, said Sunday’s bombing had “the worst impact” on the ancient areas of Tire since the start of the recent war between Israel and Hezbollah.
“The amount of debris and damage at the site is high,” Badawi said, citing both the direct impact, as the site’s administrative office was hit, and the indirect impact of debris scattered nearby by the bombing.
“This is a civil site, a world heritage site,” Badawi said. “It is not a military site at all and there is no military activity there.”
