Coin Press - Ancient Lebanese city of Tyre added to heritage danger list

"The site has been directly hit and has sustained damage. Furthermore, its state of conservation is a cause for growing concern, particularly given the possibility of further impacts," the organisation said on X.

"Optimal conditions are no longer in place to ensure the conservation and protection of the property’s outstanding universal value," said the UN body, adding that it was the Lebanese government that requested its inclusion on the list.

Tyre, 83 kilometres (50 miles) south of Beirut but barely 20 kilometres from the Israeli border, was placed on the UNESCO heritage list in 1984 and contains mainly Roman-era archaeological remains.

But the coastal city has become caught up in recent months in the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, and most of its inhabitants have fled after the Israeli army issued evacuation orders covering districts including some archaeological areas.

Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East conflict when it fired rockets at Israel to avenge the US-Israeli killing of Iran's supreme leader. Israel responded with heavy strikes and a ground invasion, killing more than 3,600 people.

The ancient city, founded some 4,700 years ago, is home to two protected sites listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, a Roman triumphal arch and a hippodrome dating from the second century.

One of the sites suffered a direct hit from an Israeli strike in June.

The city, one of the oldest in the Mediterranean, was variously Phoenician, Persian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman.

Lebanese Minister of Culture, Ghassan Salame earlier this year accused Israel of failing to comply with the Hague Convention, which since 1954 has required warring parties to protect cultural sites during armed conflict.

Salame also accused Israel of disregarding 'blue shields’, an internationally-recognised symbolic emblem which a UNESCO-linked committee established to protect cultural sites during armed conflict.

UNESCO's decision to inscribe Tyre on its danger list comes as the organisation holds the 48th session of its World Heritage Committee in Busan, South Korea.

St.Ch.Baker--CPN