On Sunday, Lebanese Minister of Culture Dr. Ghasan Salame announced the placement of blue shields on 34 archaeological sites to receive enhanced protection during the war in the country. The National News Agency quoted Salame as saying during his speech, "The Ministry did not stand idly by and made contact on the first day of the war with the Director-General of UNESCO, Dr. Khalid al-Anani, to inform him of the need for strict application of the 1954 Hague Convention. Blue shields were also placed on archaeological sites to draw the enemy's attention to them and to respect the convention." He added: "As you know, since the 2024 war on Lebanon, there are 34 archaeological sites that receive enhanced protection and have blue shields placed on them according to international customs to neutralize them during wars", noting that there are other sites not included in the 2024 list to ensure enhanced protection. He pointed out that "The Ministry of Culture has sent one of its advisors to UNESCO to try to convene a special extraordinary session of the Heritage Committee to take up a list of 30 additional sites we want to secure enhanced protection for." Salame confirmed that the Ministry is concerned with the process of confronting the effects of the war on Lebanon, referring to the damage that occurred, especially on the outskirts of the archaeological site of Baalbek in the city of Tyre. Salame also revealed that "The war on Lebanon has so far led to the damage of about 11 public libraries across the country, with three of them completely destroyed and about 10 partially destroyed", noting that "The Ministry will tomorrow, Monday, in cooperation with 12 public libraries across Lebanese lands, launch programs aimed at displaced children who have been forcibly stopped from going to school, and it will try to generalize these targeted programs to about 50 libraries affiliated with or recognized by the Ministry."
