Since the outbreak of war on February 28th, 2026, more than 20 cultural sites across Israel, Iran and Lebanon have suffered damage. UNESCO has confirmed destruction at five properties, among them the Golestan palace, the Sa’dabad palace and the old Senat palace in Iran, as well as the ancient city of Tyre in Lebanon.

The UN agency has placed all 39 of Lebanon’s World Heritage Sites under “enhanced protection,” the highest legal immunity available under the Second Protocol to the 1954 Hague Convention. Violation of that status may constitute a war crime.

Beyond legal instruments, UNESCO is supplying technical assistance, emergency inventories, and Blue Shield markings to help safeguard movable and immovable heritage alike. The agency argues that culture is not merely a casualty of conflict but a resource for recovery: destroying it deepens trauma and obstructs peacebuilding. UNESCO granted enhanced protection to 39 Lebanese heritage sites following a government request, April 2026.