For 150 years, the Palmyra Hotel in Baalbek never once closed its doors. Not even through Lebanon's 15-year civil war. On 7 November 2024, an Israeli airstrike blew our its doors and windows, causing the hotel to shut. In its glory days, Palmyra Hotel hosted princes, poets and politicians.

Baalbek has a rich history that dates back to the Phoenicians, around 9000 BCE. The Roman temples still standing in Baalbek were built over a period of more than two centuries and are considered among the most spectarular archaelogical sites of the Near East.

This particular bombing killed 4, where Israeli and anti resistance narratives claimed that Hezbollah were hiding amongst Roman architectural ruins. This was an area that was situated on the main street, on a site that has history dating back to as old as the ruins themselves. Businesses and restaurants situated on the opposite side of the road only metres away, suffered damages to their properties, their shop windows and doors damaged from the bomb blast, the entire area covered in explosive and concrete dust.