AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has warned against the deliberate targeting of cultural heritage during an armed conflict, saying such attacks could constitute a war crime under international law.
According to a report by IRNA on Tuesday morning citing media sources, the warning was issued during a report by UNESCO and the United Nations Satellite Center (UNOSAT) in Geneva on monitoring damage to cultural heritage in Lebanon and Gaza by the Zionist regime’s ongoing bombing and shelling campaign there.
Places like Baalbek are not just individual properties, but its wider area is under UNESCO protection which includes World Heritage sites or protected areas, explained Krista Pikkat, Director UNESCO's Department of Culture and Emergencies Entity.
"So if someone deliberately targets these areas, they may be committing a war crime," she said, adding that this classification applies to areas like Baalbek in Lebanon, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site of great historical and cultural importance.
Pikkat noted that Lebanon has 34 World Heritage sites, including in Baalbek and Tyre, which have recently been the subject of Israeli attacks, putting them at risk.
69 cultural sites have been affected since the escalation began, these include 43 artistic monuments, six historical monuments, seven archaeological sites and one museum, she said.
While Gaza lacks any World Heritage sites, one site is under enhanced protection under the 1954 Hague Convention and remains intact, she added, saying the Convention obliges parties to the conflict to refrain from targeting cultural heritage sites.
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