Lebanon Files Complaint with UN after Soldier Killed in Israeli Shelling

A man checks the damage in the aftermath of an Israeli strike in the southern Lebanese border village of Mais el-Jabal on December 6, 2023. (Photo by Hasan FNEICH / AFP)
A man checks the damage in the aftermath of an Israeli strike in the southern Lebanese border village of Mais el-Jabal on December 6, 2023. (Photo by Hasan FNEICH / AFP)
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Lebanon Files Complaint with UN after Soldier Killed in Israeli Shelling

A man checks the damage in the aftermath of an Israeli strike in the southern Lebanese border village of Mais el-Jabal on December 6, 2023. (Photo by Hasan FNEICH / AFP)
A man checks the damage in the aftermath of an Israeli strike in the southern Lebanese border village of Mais el-Jabal on December 6, 2023. (Photo by Hasan FNEICH / AFP)

Lebanese Caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib has asked Lebanon’s mission to the United Nations to submit a complaint to the Security Council after an Israeli strike killed a Lebanese soldier.

The Israeli army said on Wednesday it was reviewing a strike that “harmed” troops in south Lebanon, an apparent reference to Israeli shelling that killed a Lebanese soldier and wounded three others the previous day.

The Lebanese troops “were not the target of the strike,” the Israeli military said in a statement.

It expressed “regret over the incident,” saying “the incident is under review.”

The Lebanese army said the soldier, a sergeant, was killed when an army position was shelled by Israel on Tuesday.

The Israeli army said its soldiers had acted in "self defense to eliminate an imminent threat that had been identified from Lebanon" from a "known launch area and observation point" used by Hezbollah.

The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon UNIFIL noted in a statement on Tuesday it was the first Lebanese army soldier killed during the hostilities, and that the Lebanese army had not engaged in conflict with Israel.

France on Wednesday condemned the shelling, a spokesperson for the French foreign ministry said.
"France is gravely concerned by the ongoing clashes on the border between Lebanon and Israel. France condemns the Israeli strike which cost the life of a member of the Lebanese armed forces, and sends its sincere condolences to the victim's relatives," said the ministry spokesperson in a daily briefing.



World Bank Looking to Free up Emergency Funds for Lebanon, Managing Director Says

 A plume of smoke billows following an Israeli air strike on the village of Khiam in southern Lebanon near the border with Israel on October 7, 2024. (AFP)
A plume of smoke billows following an Israeli air strike on the village of Khiam in southern Lebanon near the border with Israel on October 7, 2024. (AFP)
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World Bank Looking to Free up Emergency Funds for Lebanon, Managing Director Says

 A plume of smoke billows following an Israeli air strike on the village of Khiam in southern Lebanon near the border with Israel on October 7, 2024. (AFP)
A plume of smoke billows following an Israeli air strike on the village of Khiam in southern Lebanon near the border with Israel on October 7, 2024. (AFP)

The World Bank is looking to free up emergency funds for Lebanon, potentially including up to $100 million through the use of special clauses in existing loan deals, its managing director of operations told Reuters.

The Washington-based development lender currently has $1.65 billion in loans to the country including a $250 million loan approved this week to help connect dispersed renewable energy projects in the country.

Amid fighting across southern Lebanon, the bank was currently discussing ways in which it could help support the economy, including through the use of so-called Contingent Emergency Response Component (CERCs) clauses.

"We can use our existing portfolio and free up some money for really critical, short-term liquidity needs," Anna Bjerde said.

CERCs are present in around 600 of the bank's existing projects, globally, and allow it to redirect funds that have yet to be disbursed, if requested to by a government, for example after a health or natural disaster, or during conflict.

Lebanon has yet to make such a request, Bjerde said.

After a year of exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and Israel mostly limited to the frontier region, the conflict has significantly escalated in Lebanon.

Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel's third largest city Haifa on Monday, while Israeli forces looked poised to expand ground raids into south Lebanon on the first anniversary of the Gaza war, which has spread conflict across the Middle East.

Lebanon's government could choose to use an existing social protection program that was put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic that allows for financial support to be sent to individuals, Bjerde said.

"It has the benefit of being totally digital so you can reach people, plus it can be verified a bit... so we will also probably use that to top up the social safety net for those that are particularly affected."

Up to 1 million people have been internally displaced in the country, she added: "So it's important we focus on that".

Lebanon's finance ministry and economy ministry did not immediately respond when asked for comment.