the surroundings of the Baalbeck archaeological site targeted by an Israeli strike

The Baalbeck Citadel in eastern Lebanon includes one of the best preserved Roman temples in the world, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984.

An Israeli strike targeted a position located near the Roman temples of Baalbeck, in eastern Lebanon, on Sunday, October 6, a local official said, specifying that the thousand-year-old site had not been directly hit.

The Baalbeck region, where Hezbollah has a strong presence, has been regularly targeted by violent air raids since Israel intensified its bombardments against what it considers to be targets of the pro-Iranian movement across the country on September 23. . “The strike took place approximately 500 to 700 m from the citadel, and did not target the citadel or its enclosure”declared the governor of Baalbeck, Bachir Khodr.

He warned that such strikes had a “negative impact” on the archaeological site, “whether because of the black smoke affecting the stones, or the force of the explosion”whose tremors could affect the remains.

The ancient city of Baalbeck – the ancient Heliopolis of the Romans – includes one of the best preserved Roman temples in the world, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984. “This Phoenician city, where the cult of a divine triad was celebrated, was named Heliopolis in the Hellenistic period”we can read on the UNESCO website. “With its colossal constructions, Baalbeck remains one of the most imposing vestiges of imperial Roman architecture at its peak”adds the organization.

The escalation of violence in Lebanon comes almost a year after Hezbollah opened a front against Israel “in support” of Hamas in Gaza, on October 8, 2023. According to the authorities, this violence caused more of 2,000 deaths in Lebanon in one year. More than a million people have been displaced by Israeli military operations in Lebanon, according to official figures, and many of them find themselves forced to sleep on the streets in several neighborhoods of Beirut.