International organisations and Lebanese culture ministry issue warnings amid Israeli capture of Beaufort Castle and strikes on Tyre

Icomos Lebanon, Unesco, and Lebanon’s Ministry of Culture issued warnings in early June about damage to cultural heritage sites following Israeli military actions affecting Beaufort Castle and the ancient city of Tyre. In a statement published on 8 June, Icomos condemned a strike at the entrance to Tyre, a Unesco World Heritage Site with Enhanced Protection under the Second Protocol to the 1954 Hague Convention, and said damage was confirmed to the entrance precinct, administrative buildings, and archaeological warehouses. Unesco said on 9 June it had stepped up support after confirmed damage to Tyre, Beaufort Castle, and Chama’ Citadel, with strikes reported near other protected locations. Lebanese culture minister Ghassan Salameh wrote to Unesco director-general Khaled El-Enany on 5 June seeking urgent intervention after Israeli forces captured Beaufort Castle on 31 May; the IDF said on 7 June the area was targeted as a strategic asset used by Hezbollah to launch about 400 missiles toward northern Israel and that forces were dismantling underground infrastructure.

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