Tyre, an ancient Phoenician city in southern Lebanon hit in recent months by Israeli bombardment, was on Wednesday added to the UNESCO list of world heritage sites in danger.
"The site has been directly hit and has sustained damage. Furthermore, its state of conservation is a cause for growing concern, particularly given the possibility of further impacts," the organization said.
"Optimal conditions are no longer in place to ensure the conservation and protection of the property's outstanding universal value," said the UN body, adding that it was the Lebanese government that requested its inclusion on the list.
The ruins in Tyre, around 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Beirut, were placed on the UNESCO heritage list in 1984 and contain mainly Roman-era archaeological remains.
Lebanese Culture Minister Ghassan Salame welcomed Wednesday's move and said the listing would "focus the attention and concern of UNESCO and member states on a site of great importance in the history of a region currently witnessing conflicts."
The ancient city, founded some 4,700 years ago, is home to two protected areas listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites and which include a Roman triumphal arch and a hippodrome dating from the second century.
One of the sites suffered a direct hit from an Israeli strike in June.
A Lebanese Culture Ministry official told Agence France-Presse (AFP) at the time that an administrative office was struck and debris from nearby bombardment had impacted archaeological elements including columns, capitals and mosaics.
The city, one of the oldest in the Mediterranean, was variously Phoenician, Persian, Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine.
Earlier this year, Salame accused Israel of failing to comply with the Hague Convention, which since 1954 has required warring parties to protect cultural sites during armed conflict.
He had also accused Israel of disregarding "blue shields," an internationally recognized symbolic emblem which a UNESCO-linked committee established to protect cultural sites during armed conflict.
UNESCO's decision to inscribe Tyre on its danger list comes as the organization holds the 48th session of its World Heritage Committee in Busan, South Korea.
