Key actors — tap for context
Tyre
ancient Phoenician port city in southern Lebanon, today a UNESCO World Heritage site
Why here: has become a focal point of Israeli airstrikes, with its ancient heritage under threat
More info →
Alexander the Great
Macedonian king and conqueror (356–323 BC), one of the greatest military commanders of antiquity
Why here: his nearly seven-month siege of Tyre in 332 BC is among the most famous in history
More info →
Ghassan Salamé
Lebanese Minister of Culture and former senior UN diplomat
Why here: called on UNESCO to act against the damaging of protected sites
More info →
UNESCO
UN agency for education, science and culture, which administers the World Heritage List
Why here: added Tyre to the list in 1984; in 2024 placed dozens of Lebanese heritage sites under enhanced protection
More info →Hezbollah
Lebanese Shiite political movement and armed group
Why here: Israel cites its positions as the reason for airstrikes on southern Lebanon
More info →The strikes landed just a few meters from the archaeological site. According to experts, the debris knocked down the capitals of Roman columns and damaged stones of a thousand-year-old Roman road, with likely damage also around the ancient hippodrome. According to The Art Newspaper, a strike on March 6 hit the edge of the Al-Bass site, which falls within the buffer zone of the protected monument. Al Jazeera ↗ The Art Newspaper ↗
Lebanese Culture Minister Ghassan Salamé called on UNESCO to intervene: "There is no military or security presence at the sites, and such an argument cannot be used to justify bombing or damaging them." On November 18, 2024, UNESCO placed 34 Lebanese cultural sites, including Tyre, under enhanced protection under the 1954 Hague Convention and its Second Protocol, which protect cultural heritage during armed conflicts. The Art Newspaper ↗
Tyre had around 60,000 residents, of whom about 10,000 lived in the old town; most of them have fled. Across Lebanon, authorities have recorded more than 1.2 million displaced people, and according to AP, more than 4,000 deaths since the start of the war in March. Archaeologist Joanne Bajjaly of the organization BILADI speaks of "the erasure of a people and its memory" and of "cultural warfare." The Directorate General of Antiquities is still waiting until it is safe to inspect the site. Al Jazeera ↗ AP / Arab News ↗
What hotinfo is following
- Whether UNESCO and its advisory body ICOMOS will send an assessment mission to Tyre, and what damage to the protected zone they officially confirm.
- The development of fighting in southern Lebanon and whether the airstrikes near the ancient site will cease.
