One of the oldest cities on the Mediterranean coast, Tyre lies around 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the Israeli border, and its UNESCO World Heritage-listed ruins are located in two main areas of the city.

Israel's military has heavily bombed Tyre since the latest war erupted with Hezbollah.

On Sunday it did so again after issuing a further evacuation warning that covered districts including one of the archaeological areas, known as the city site, which is home to Roman ruins.

"I am launching an appeal to avoid the targeting of archaeological sites in the country... in particular the ruins in Tyre which are part of the heritage of humanity," Salame told AFP.

AFP correspondents on Monday saw dust and debris close to ancient columns after the previous day's bombardment, as well as twisted metal and broken tree branches near several stone artefacts.

Concrete and metal debris also appeared to have been strewn onto a stone stairway.

Ali Badawi, the culture ministry's regional director of archaeological sites for south Lebanon, said Sunday's bombardment had had "the worst impact" on Tyre's ancient areas since the war began.

"The amount of debris and damage at the site is high," he said, noting both the direct impact, with the site's administrative office struck, and the indirect impact of debris strewn from nearby bombardment.

- 'Civilian site' -

"Some archaeological artefacts were damaged when rubble fell on them, as debris fell over a large area, impacting a large number of elements at the site -- columns, capitals, column bases, mosaics," he said.

"This is a civilian site, a World Heritage site, it's not a military site at all, and there are no military activities there," Badawi said.

He said a preliminary damage assessment was underway, noting that Tyre's other archaeological area, known as Al-Bass, had been damaged earlier in the conflict.

Minister Salame said that authorities would evaluate Sunday's damage "once a ceasefire is in place and we can access the ruins without putting our archaeologists in danger".

Israel "does not respect" the Hague convention on the protection of cultural property during armed conflicts, nor the "blue shields" placed for symbolic protection near the Tyre site and others by an organisation linked to UNESCO after the latest conflict erupted, he said.

Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East conflict on March 2 when it fired rockets at Israel to avenge the US-Israeli killing of Iran's supreme leader. Israel responded with heavy strikes and a ground invasion, killing more than 3,600 people.

Neither Israel nor Hezbollah have respected a ceasefire announced in April.

Since a previous round of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah erupted in 2023, UNESCO has granted more than 70 heritage sites in Lebanon, including Tyre, "provisional enhanced protection," the organisation's highest level of legal protection, which is intended for sites at risk from conflict.