Lebanese minister urges safety of Baalbek temple complex from strikes
3 Min Read
Lebanon's culture minister encourages Lebanon's permanent representative to UNESCO in Paris to register concerns with the agency immediately and engage in required discussions to avert strikes on the Baalbek temple complex.
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Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Lebanon's eastern city of Baalbeck in the Bekaa valley on September 25, 2024. (AFP)
On Wednesday, Lebanese Culture Minister Mohammad Mortada urged the international community and UNESCO to prevent Israeli attacks on the historic Roman temple complex in Baalbek, eastern Lebanon.
"Israel" published an evacuation order that spanned the entire city of Baalbek, forcing people to evacuate their houses quickly, as the IOF usually proceeds to strike areas under its evacuation order in less than an hour.
"If there is still conscience in this world, let them prevent Israel from striking the temple complex in Baalbek, which represents a world cultural treasure included in the UNESCO cultural heritage list."
Lebanese news agency NNA quoted the minister as saying this concerns "not only Lebanon but all of humanity."
The culture minister encouraged Lebanon's permanent representative to UNESCO in Paris to register concerns with the agency immediately and engage in required discussions to avert strikes on the Baalbek temple complex.
Mortada further stated that he had unannounced conversations with Nabih Berri, Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, and Najib Mikati, interim Prime Minister. Meanwhile, thousands of Baalbek residents are fleeing their houses after the IOF issued a warning about impending attacks on civilian areas, according to locals.
"Currently, there is a multi-kilometer traffic jam from Baalbek to Beirut...Thousands of people are attempting to flee the city before Israel begins bombing," a local resident stated.
Israeli drones target vehicles in Mount Lebanon, Bchamoun areas
An Israeli drone targeted and struck a passenger van on the road of Kahale-Arya in Mount Lebanon on Wednesday, according to Al Mayadeen's correspondent.
#بالفيديو | مسيّرة إسرائيلية تستهدف سيارة على طريق الكحالة - عاريا.#الميادين_لبنان#لبنان pic.twitter.com/qv6NH7Jynr
— الميادين لبنان (@mayadeenlebanon) October 30, 2024
This follows another attempted drone strike at a car in the Bchamoun area. However, the drone failed to hit the vehicle, our correspondent confirmed.
#بالفيديو | مسيّرة إسرائيلية تطلق صاروخاً باتجاه سيارة على طريق بشامون لكنها لم تصبها.#الميادين_لبنان#لبنان pic.twitter.com/SGL7CAZYo3
— الميادين لبنان (@mayadeenlebanon) October 30, 2024
In South Lebanon, Al Mayadeen's correspondent reported a number of Israeli airstrikes on the Khiam village, while the occupation's artillery shelled Mount Sadana Heights and Shebaa. A series of Israeli airstrikes was also launched at Shebaa.
Earlier during the day, the Israeli occupation targeted the town of Ansar in the Nabatieh district, as well as the Khardali river course and Barghoz.
The Israeli occupation also bombarded the al-Qlayaa outskirts, between Ibel al-Saqi, Burj al-Muluk, and Safad al-Battikh.
In Sarafand, search operations are still ongoing for three missing persons who were inside the building targeted and leveled by the Israeli occupation on Tuesday night.
It is worth noting that some of the martyrs of the Sarafand massacre were displaced people who sought shelter in the city.
The head of the crisis committee in Sarafand, Ali Khalifa, told Al Mayadeen that rubble removal efforts are based on a special initiative undertaken in the absence of official support. He noted that around two thousand families reside in the area targeted by the occupation.
![In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had "engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)](https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2024/12/21/b4a69f2e-8682-43e4-9d37-49482b304ab3/3.png?v=2&format=webp "In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had \"engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)")
