Israeli Air Attack Destroys Ottoman Era Building Near Housing Temple

Heliopolis (Heliopolis), Lebanon (2017)/ILLUSTRATION OF UNSPLASH/Fred Nassar

JAKARTA - Israeli airstrikes destroyed an Ottoman-era building very close to the UNESCO-listed temple of 47bek in eastern Lebanon.

Piles of gray rock and twisted metal lay on Thursday, November 7, next to the burning bus, just a few tens of meters from the World Heritage Site.

The Israeli military has ordered residents of the entire city to leave Mexicobek, in Lebanese eastern Bekaa Valley, one of the largest and most conserved Greek-Romawi temple complexes in Levant.

The surrounding city has been repeatedly attacked by Israel calling the leaders of Iran-backed Shiite Hezbollah movement sheltered there.

Governor Bachir Khodr told Reuters the building that was destroyed in the historic Manshiyeh neighborhood just outside the site of the ancient temple was invaluable because it originated in the Ottoman era.

This is a very artistic environment, usually full of tourists. Nobody in the building," he said.

No damage was seen in the site's complex, but it was too early to conclude.

"The site guard visually ensures there is no damage but we need engineers and archaeologists to come to see. No one has been able to do that because of the attack," said Khodr.

Maya Halabi of the Organese International Festival said a total of three Ottoman-era sites were now damaged by Israeli attacks in recent weeks, including Barak Gouroud, Hotel Palmyra, and the houses that were destroyed on Wednesday, November 6.

"Acropolis where the temples are located is only a few meters away. The temples have not been damaged and we hope that doesn't happen," Halabi told Reuters.

Israel launched a massive ground attack and air military operation against Hezbollah in late September after a year of firefight across the border along with the Gaza war.