[Anchor]
After two weeks of U.S. and Israeli strikes, Iran is confronting not only heavy casualties but also the threat of irreparable damage to its historic cultural sites.
Hundreds have also been killed or wounded in Lebanon, where officials say roughly one in seven victims is a child.
Reporter Han Chae-hee has the report.
[Reporter]
Thick black smoke rises over crowds in central Tehran.
At an International Quds Day rally where protesters had gathered to denounce the U.S. and Israel, Israeli strikes repeatedly struck the crowd, killing a woman.
“People are not afraid of these attacks,” said Gholamhossein Mohseni-Eje'i, head of Iran’s judiciary. “As you can see, people have taken to the streets in this rain despite these hardships.”
Human rights organizations estimate that successive U.S. and Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 1,700 people in Iran.
Iran’s ancient cultural heritage is also at risk.
Mirror and glass fragments from the Golestan Palace — often called Iran’s Versailles — lie scattered on the floor. Wooden decorations have fallen from walls, leaving the interiors severely damaged and unrecognizable.
The 17th-century Chehel Sotoun Palace has also suffered serious damage.
“UNESCO is deeply concerned about the initial impacts of armed conflict that are already appearing at World Heritage sites, including in Iran,” said Lazar Eloundou Assomo, director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre.
Israeli airstrikes are also continuing in Lebanon, which officials have described as a “second front.”
Lebanon’s Ministry of Health reported 773 dead as of March 14, including at least 103 children.
Lebanese authorities say they have opened all shelters in Beirut but still lack sufficient space to house roughly 800,000 displaced people.
This is Han Chae-hee reporting for Yonhap News TV.
[News Review]
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Han Chae-hee (1ch@yna.co.kr)
