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As GCC calls for ceasefire, UAE gives Lebanon $100m

By Edmund Bower
The site of an Israeli strike on the city of Ain Deleb in Lebanon. The GCC has called for an immediate ceasefire Reuters
The site of an Israeli strike on the city of Ain Deleb in Lebanon. The GCC has called for an immediate ceasefire
  • GCC calls for Lebanon de-escalation
  • UAE announces aid package
  • Saudi aid also announced

The UAE directed an urgent $100 million aid package to Lebanon on Monday, as fighting between Israel and Hezbollah continued.

President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al Nahyan said: “This initiative is part of the UAE’s continuous efforts to support Lebanon through its current challenges, underscoring the nation’s unwavering commitment to assisting the Lebanese people.”

The president’s statement, carried by the UAE state news agency, Wam, did not detail what form the aid would take or to which government ministries it would be directed.

The past two weeks have been among the bloodiest in Lebanese history. Israeli airstrikes and other attacks have killed more than 1,000 people and wounded thousands of others. 

Billions of dollars of damage have been done to buildings and state infrastructure over the past year of fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah.

The conflict has also intensified a five-year economic crisis during which the Lebanese economy has more than halved, and GDP contracted every year since 2019.

Other Arab countries have sent aid to Lebanon in recent days, particularly Iraq, which has sent multiple shipments of medical supplies and issued a promise to maintain an “air bridge and a land bridge” to ensure vital supplies of fuel shipments.

Countries including the US, the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Japan, and international bodies including the EU and the Gulf Cooperation Council, have called for an end to the fighting in Lebanon.

The GCC released a statement on Monday emphasising the need for “an immediate ceasefire and de-escalation along Lebanon’s southern borders” to protect civilians and prevent the conflict from expanding further in the region.

The secretary-general of the GCC, Jassim Mohammed Al-Budaiwi, called for the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which would require Hezbollah’s forces to pull back behind the Litani River and Israeli forces pull back behind the Blue Line, the de facto border between the two countries.

Saudi Arabia released a statement on Monday expressing “deep concern regarding the evolving situation in Lebanon” and emphasised the need for all parties to respect Lebanon’s “sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

The statement said that Saudi Arabia’s leadership had “issued directives for the provision of medical and relief assistance to the Lebanese population during these difficult times”, although it did not include details of what form that assistance would take.

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