Beirut Explosion Claims the Life of Lady Yvonne Sursock Cochrane

Lady Yvonne Sursock Cochrane, the owner of Sursock Palace in Ashrafieh
Lady Yvonne Sursock Cochrane, the owner of Sursock Palace in Ashrafieh
TT

Beirut Explosion Claims the Life of Lady Yvonne Sursock Cochrane

Lady Yvonne Sursock Cochrane, the owner of Sursock Palace in Ashrafieh
Lady Yvonne Sursock Cochrane, the owner of Sursock Palace in Ashrafieh

Lady Yvonne Sursock Cochrane, the owner of Sursock Palace in Ashrafieh, passed away at the age of 98. Cochrane was hit during the Beirut explosion on Aug. 4 while sitting in one of the palace halls.

She lived on the ground floor of the historical mansion, while her son Rodrigue and his family occupy the second floor. At the moment of the explosion, she was sitting, as usual, in one of the palace rooms, and was wounded and rushed to the hospital.

The palace, on the Sursock Street in the Ashrafieh area, suffered great material losses, as the two floors, in addition to its lush garden, were severely damaged by the explosion of the port in Beirut.

Cochrane, who was keen on preserving the heritage buildings in Beirut, established in 1960 the APSAD Foundation to encourage the protection of heritage sites. On National Heritage Day every year, Yvonne Cochrane opens the doors of her palace to visitors, to get a closer look at its ancient and artistic features.

The Sursock Palace is one of the oldest heritage buildings in Beirut, and it is known as “Lady Cochrane” Palace. It is home to rare historical artifacts dating back to the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Lady Yvonne Cochrane has European roots from her mother, Donna Maria, of Italian descent. As for the palace, it was built in 1860 by Moussa Sursock, Yvonne’s grandfather.

Donna Maria married an Irish lord of the Cochran family, and she carried his surname. As the only child of her father, Alfred Cochrane, Yvonne inherited the palace, in which she lived until her death on Aug. 31.



Israeli Airstrikes Kill at Least 30 Palestinians in Gaza, Medics Say

A body arrives at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah town, central Gaza Strip, 31 October 2024. (EPA)
A body arrives at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah town, central Gaza Strip, 31 October 2024. (EPA)
TT

Israeli Airstrikes Kill at Least 30 Palestinians in Gaza, Medics Say

A body arrives at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah town, central Gaza Strip, 31 October 2024. (EPA)
A body arrives at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah town, central Gaza Strip, 31 October 2024. (EPA)

Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip have killed at least 30 Palestinians since Monday night, Palestinian media and medics said on Tuesday, as the Israeli army tightened its siege on northern areas of the enclave.

An airstrike damaged two houses in the town of Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza, where the army has carried out new operations since Oct. 5, and killed at least 20 people late on Monday, the Palestinian official news agency WAFA and Hamas media said.

The Gaza health ministry did not immediately confirm the toll. Four other people were killed in the central Gazan town of Al-Zawayda around midnight on Monday, medics said.

Palestinian health officials said six people had also been killed in two separate Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City and Deir Al-Balah in the central area of the narrow enclave.

The Israeli military said, without giving details, that its forces had "eliminated terrorists" in the central Gaza Strip and Jabalia area. Israeli troops had also located weapons and explosives over the past day in the southern Rafah area, where "terrorist infrastructure sites" had been eliminated, it said.

Palestinians said the new attacks and Israeli orders for people to evacuate were aimed at emptying two northern Gaza towns and a refugee camp to create buffer zones.

Israel says its forces have killed hundreds of Palestinian gunmen and dismantled military infrastructure in Jabalia in the past month.

More than 43,300 Palestinians have been killed in more than a year of war in Gaza, the authorities in Gaza say, and much of the territory has been reduced to ruins.

The war began after Hamas-led fighters attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.