Dozens of heritage sites in Lebanon were granted "provisional enhanced protection" by UNESCO Monday, the U.N. cultural body said, offering a higher level of legal shielding as Israel heavily bombed Lebanon.

The 34 cultural sites affected "now benefit from the highest level of immunity against attack and use for military purposes," UNESCO said in a statement, adding that "non-compliance with these clauses would constitute 'serious violations' of the 1954 Hague Convention and... potential grounds for prosecution".

The news came by video. Law professor Ali Mourad discovered that Israel had dynamited his family's south Lebanon home only after footage of the operation was sent to his phone.

"A friend from the village sent me the video, telling me to make sure my dad doesn't see it," Mourad, 43, told AFP.

The U.N.'s special coordinator for Lebanon on Friday said the country's cultural heritage was being endangered by Israeli strikes on the ancient Lebanese cities of Tyre and Baalbek, home to UNESCO-designated Roman ruins.

Inside what was once one of Beirut's oldest and best-known cinemas, dozens of Lebanese, Palestinians and Syrians displaced by the Israel-Hezbollah war spend their time following the news on their phones, cooking, chatting and walking around to pass the time.

Outside on Hamra Street, once a thriving economic hub, sidewalks are filled with displaced people, and hotels and apartments are crammed with those seeking shelter. Cafes and restaurants are overflowing.

Former U.S. national team captain Becky Sauerbrunn and Netherlands forward Vivianne Miedema are among more than 100 women's football players who have signed an open letter protesting FIFA's sponsorship deal with Saudi Arabian state oil giant Aramco.

The letter calls the deal, which includes sponsorship at the 2027 Women's World Cup in Brazil, "much worse than an own goal," citing Saudi Arabia's record on the rights of women and LGBTQ+ people and the impact of Aramco's oil and gas production on climate change.