On April 13, in an air strike on the village of Chamaa in the Tyre district of southern Lebanon, Israel completely razed the Shrine of Prophet Shamoun al-Safa. The strike was executed with precision and intention, a crime against a holy site protected under international law .
Remote photographs taken by journalist Ali Ezzeddine show that the shrine's minaret has completely disappeared.
The destruction of the Shrine is not an isolated incident. At least nine religious sites were demolished in Israeli-controlled explosions in border villages of southern Lebanon, among them the Shrine of the Prophet Benjamin in the village of Muhaib, the churches of Dardghaya and Yaroun, and the mosque of Blieda.
Amnesty International documented videos showing Israeli soldiers manually laying explosives inside religious sites, with soldiers filming themselves celebrating the destruction.
Revered as a religious symbol for both Christians and Muslims, the Shrine of Prophet Shamoun al-Safa stood on the archaeological hill of Chamaa in southern Lebanon, approximately five kilometres from the Lebanese-Palestinian border. It is on UNESCO's Tentative World Heritage List and, among the 34 cultural properties granted by UNESCO in November 2024, it is the highest level of legal protection against attack and use for military purposes.
The site is of profound civilisational significance, making it a shared Muslim-Christian heritage landmark of the village.
Lebanon's Ministry of Culture condemned the attack.
The General Directorate of Antiquities announced in a statement that it submitted an urgent complaint to UNESCO, requesting its "immediate and swift intervention to protect the archaeological site of Chamaa Castle in southern Lebanon, following reports that Israeli enemy forces are destroying the castle site, which was included on the Enhanced Protection List in 2024 under Protocol II of the 1954 Hague Convention."
The ministry also noted that the Israeli army had previously attacked the Chamaa Castle site during the 2024 offensive, which was not even the first time the site had been targeted.
Israeli forces struck it in 1978, uprooted its ancient gateway in 1998, and caused major damage in 2006. Each time, restoration was carried out with the support of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), which has contributed approximately 13.8 million euros to safeguarding Lebanese cultural heritage sites, with Chamaa Castle among those to have benefited directly. Ali Badawi , Director of Archaeological Sites in Southern Lebanon at the General Directorate of Antiquities, told The New Arab that the last restoration works on the castle were completed and the site reopened in 2021, and that a further partial restoration of the shrine was undertaken following the 2024 war through a community initiative under the technical supervision of the General Directorate of Antiquities. The information received today, however, points to its destruction once again. Gradual damage "An accurate assessment of the damage is impossible while Israeli military operations are ongoing," said Badawi, adding that available information suggests that the domes and minaret have disappeared entirely.
"Satellite imagery is still being sought to establish a clearer picture, as direct access to the site is currently not feasible," he added, noting that Chamaa and neighbouring areas have fallen under temporary military control.
"The damage to the site is an irreparable loss," historian Ali Daoud Jaber , a native of Chamaa, told The New Arab .
"This cannot be considered a military strike," said Jaber, "it's a strike against civilisation and history, an act of revenge."
He associated the targeting of the shrine with the 2024 death of Israeli archaeologist Zeev Erlich at the site during the 2024 war.
"It is still unclear why Erlich was brought to the site by the Israeli army, especially given that the clashes led by Hezbollah took place on the outskirts of the village, as the village itself was already destroyed and exposed," said Jaber.
Dating back to the Fatimid era, explained Jaber, the shrine comprises four historic chambers, a minaret, and inner courtyards, along with an ancient water cistern known as the Well of the Prophet Sham'a, which formed part of the water supply system during the Crusader siege.
"Yet the Castle of Chamaa, originally had nine towers, which remained standing until 2006, when Israel systematically destroyed most of them during successive wars waged against Lebanon," added Jaber. Amani Safieddine , a resident of Chamaa and a familiar face at the shrine alongside her brother Ibrahim Safieddine, a local activist who has dedicated himself since 2017 to researching and documenting the village’s heritage, is now displaced in the Shouf region.
Both were immersed in the restoration effort. When she heard that the shrine had been destroyed, Amani told The New Arab that the news shook her to the core.
"My friends offered their condolences as if I had lost my home," she said. "My brother devoted his life and his time to preserving this place and its stones. After the last strike, we spent a year gathering resources to rebuild it."
In 2024, she said, they consoled themselves with the fact that a large part had survived. Shared heritage spanning centuries In diverse Lebanon , the shrine transcended religious boundaries.
Badawi explained how the site dates back to the Roman era, to the second century AD, possibly even older.
"It was a Christian site during the Byzantine and Crusader periods before becoming a shrine and mosque as it is known today," said Badawi.
He noted that the Shrine of the Prophet Shamoun al-Safa, attributed to the Apostle Peter, lies within the castle's grounds, suggesting that the site's last recorded renovation likely dates back to the mid-eighteenth century, based on its architectural development.
"The castle and shrine are known as the 'Castles of Jabal Amel', and were nominated for inscription on UNESCO's World Heritage List, owing to their exceptional value and their strategic position overlooking a network of roads connecting the Lebanese interior to Palestine," he added.
Amani emphasised the shrine's significance in the daily life of her hometown, describing it as both a destination for worship and a cherished communal space.
"This place was not simply a religious site, a place for prayer, supplication, and the fulfilment of vows; it was also a warm and welcoming space that brought us together with brothers and friends at all times of the day. We would come in the evenings to take in the view over the city of Tyre," she said.
Jaber noted how Shia Muslims drew a connection between Shamoun al-Safa and the Imam Mahdi, as the first is considered, according to historical references, the maternal great-grandfather of the Imam Mahdi, the twelfth and final Imam, believed to be the living, divinely appointed savior who will return at the end of time to eliminate injustice, establish peace, and restore true Islamic teachings.
"It served throughout the ages as a spiritual and social centre, bound to inherited customs and rituals and woven into the daily memory of the village's inhabitants," said Jaber.
Residents in this area have recited the invocation: "I beseech you, O Shamoun al-Safa, whose secret never faded," said Jaber, noting that the name of the Prophet Shamoun al-Safa was passed down from generation to generation.
"Even though people were not sure if he was a prophet or a guardian, their supplications and prayers remained bound to him, making the shrine a pilgrimage site," said Jaber.
Two weeks before the recent attack, UNESCO granted Enhanced Protection status to 39 Lebanese cultural sites during an extraordinary session of the Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, convened at Lebanon's request, and approved over $100,000 in emergency funding.
Badawi said that this enhanced protection imposes special safeguards on cultural sites of outstanding value, "yet these legal protections have been violated."
"This loss cannot be compensated. Both the castle and the shrine sites have lost their historical integrity and cannot be rebuilt as they once were. What has happened is an irreplaceable loss and the erasure of a collective memory," said Jaber.
Amani concurs. "Our loss is immense," she said. "Houses can be compensated, but the shrine cannot be replaced."
Yet her resolve to bring it back is unshakable.
"Even if we have to gather its stones one by one, we will rebuild it," she remarked. This article is published in collaboration with Egab .