BEIRUT, November 8. /TASS/. Over 100 members of the Lebanese parliament have signed an appeal to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) demanding to protect the ancient monuments of Baalbek, Saida and Tyre from destruction.
"The Israeli Air Force is carrying out massive strikes on the city of Baalbek and its surroundings, as well as on Saida and Tyre, posing a serious threat to the ancient monuments located there, which are inscribed on the World Heritage List," reads a statement distributed on the X social network. "We ask UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay to prioritize the protection of these historic sites from Israeli aggression, using all her authority to do so," the statement added.
The appeal highlights the threat to the citadel of Baalbek, which houses a renowned ancient temple complex. For the past two weeks, the outskirts of the city, located in the Beqaa Valley near the Syrian border, have been subjected to intense attacks. Israel claims the airstrikes target facilities of Shiite Hezbollah militants stationed there.
On November 6, rockets struck a parking lot near the archaeological site, destroying the early 20th-century Manshiya House and damaging the facade and several rooms of the nearby Palmyra Hotel, a landmark built in 1874. Over the past century, the hotel has hosted notable figures such as Kaiser Wilhelm II, Kemal Ataturk, Charles de Gaulle, Pablo Picasso, and Ivan Bunin, who dedicated his book of lyrics and essays 'The Temple of the Sun' to his visit to Baalbek.
Baalbek Mayor Mustafa al-Shal told Al Jadeed that the strikes damaged the hotel salon, smashing windows and damaging furniture, as well as the room where popular Lebanese singer Fairuz, who opened the first international music festival at the ruins of Baalbek in 1955, had once stayed.