Graham Phillip, a professor of archeology at Durham University, says he does not believe Israel will deliberately hit Baalbek or anywhere else.
“It’s hard to see how they would gain militarily by bombing a Roman temple.”
But he warned of the risk of some bombs or rockets flying off target and hitting rubble, even unintentionally: “If you fire enough munitions, not all of them will land within 25 meters of the target.”
Mr Philip has closely followed the fallout from Israel’s strikes on heritage sites in Gaza, where he is fighting Hamas, leading A team from a British university documents the archaeological destruction, external by territory.
He says it is too early to assess how much damage the current wars in Lebanon and Gaza have caused. But a UNESCO study published in September found that 69 cultural heritage sites in Gaza were damaged in the war, which was sparked by Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023.
The oldest mosque in Gaza, the Great Mosque of Amari, is one. It was built on the site of an ancient Philistine temple before being converted into a church and then a mosque. It was reportedly largely destroyed by an Israeli strike in December 2023.
Mr Phillip says these ancient sites are not only important anchors to the classical past, but “almost like the soul of a population”.
“Imagine how people in Britain would feel if they destroyed the Tower of London or Stonehenge.
“It’s part of their identity.”
