UNESCO has granted enhanced protection to 39 cultural heritage sites in Lebanon during an extraordinary session of its Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property. This designation, which prohibits targeting or military use of the sites, also unlocks over $100,000 in emergency funding for on-the-ground operations. The protected sites include the ancient Bekka Temple, the Lebanese National Library, and Barsbay Tower.
This move is a direct response to the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which has expanded beyond southern Lebanon to threaten sites across the country. The protection is both a legal safeguard under the 1954 Hague Convention and a critical national priority for Lebanon, where heritage is central to its multi-religious identity. It represents a collective effort by Lebanese authorities and civil society to preserve sites seen as part of shared human history, even as displacement of the population complicates their physical safeguarding.