China to Provide Emergency Medical Supplies to Lebanon

 Smoke billows over Beirut southern suburbs after a strike, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Sin El Fil, Lebanon October 7, 2024. (Reuters)
Smoke billows over Beirut southern suburbs after a strike, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Sin El Fil, Lebanon October 7, 2024. (Reuters)
TT

China to Provide Emergency Medical Supplies to Lebanon

 Smoke billows over Beirut southern suburbs after a strike, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Sin El Fil, Lebanon October 7, 2024. (Reuters)
Smoke billows over Beirut southern suburbs after a strike, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Sin El Fil, Lebanon October 7, 2024. (Reuters)

China will provide emergency medical supplies to Lebanon, China's official foreign aid agency, the China International Development Cooperation Agency, said on Tuesday, as Israel-Hezbollah fighting intensified.

Li Ming, spokesperson for the agency, said in a statement that as the fighting escalated recently, explosions and air strikes "have occurred in many places in Lebanon, causing a large number of casualties."

"At the request of the Lebanese government, the Chinese government has decided to provide emergency humanitarian medical supplies to Lebanon to help Lebanon carry out medical assistance," the statement said.

Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel's third-largest city, Haifa, and Israel looked poised to expand its offensive into Lebanon on Monday, one year after the devastating Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the Gaza war.

The focus of the war has increasingly shifted north to Lebanon where Israeli forces have been exchanging fire with Hezbollah since the Iranian-backed group launched a barrage of missiles in support of Hamas on Oct. 8.



France, Qatar Deliver Urgent Aid to Lebanon, Foreign Minister Says

Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati meets with French Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot in Beirut on September 30, 2024. (AFP)
Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati meets with French Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot in Beirut on September 30, 2024. (AFP)
TT

France, Qatar Deliver Urgent Aid to Lebanon, Foreign Minister Says

Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati meets with French Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot in Beirut on September 30, 2024. (AFP)
Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati meets with French Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot in Beirut on September 30, 2024. (AFP)

France and Qatar delivered urgent humanitarian aid to Lebanon on Tuesday, France's foreign minister said, as Paris pushes for broader humanitarian efforts and a ceasefire in the country.

"If we don't do anything, then Lebanon tomorrow could resemble what Syria has become," Jean-Noel Barrot told lawmakers in parliament. "(That is), a hub of instability for smuggling, terrorism and a point of departure for a large migration of civilians seeking refuge in Europe."

French and Qatari military planes delivered some 27 metric tons of medicines and basic necessities, including blankets and hygiene kits, diplomatic sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Paris has historical ties with Lebanon and has been working with the United States in trying to secure a ceasefire in the Middle Eastern country. Those talks stalled at the end of September when Israel heavily bombed Beirut's southern suburbs, killing longtime Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.

It has since launched a ground offensive displacing thousands of people. Tuesday's Franco-Qatari aid aims to support local aid groups to help the wounded and displaced.

The two sides must accept the ceasefire proposal, Barrot said, to "give peace and negotiations a chance to guarantee the sovereignty of Lebanon and security for Israel."

France is also working to put together a conference on Lebanon soon that will center around three pillars: humanitarian aid, reinforcing the Lebanese army and discussing the ongoing political vacuum in the country, Barrot said.