Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
Since the outbreak of the Middle East war on 28 February, UNESCO has received reports of damage to over 20 cultural sites in Israel, Iran, and Lebanon, including World Heritage Sites and others of national importance. UNESCO has confirmed damage to five properties, including a synagogue, the Golestan, Sa’dabad, and old Senat palaces in Iran, and the ancient city of Tyre in Lebanon, highlighting the threat to the living heritage of local communities.
At the request of the Lebanese Government, UNESCO granted “enhanced protection” status to 39 cultural sites in Lebanon, the highest number given to any country. UNESCO states this designation is the highest level of international legal protection under the Second Protocol to the 1954 Hague Convention, intended to shield sites of utmost importance to humanity from military attacks. Noncompliance by any party could constitute a war crime.
UNESCO works with Lebanon’s Directorate General of Antiquities to provide technical advice and support for emergency cultural heritage protection. This includes training, creating emergency inventories, safeguarding and rehabilitating storage sites, issuing evacuation guidelines for movable heritage, and marking protected sites with the Blue Shield emblem to promote their safety during hostilities.
The UN agency also emphasizes the importance of protecting educational, cultural, media, and scientific institutions during conflict, recognizing them as foundational to future societies and crucial to preserving people’s identity.