Lebanon’s Relief Commission Warehouses Filled with Saudi Aid for Distribution

Lebanon’s Environment Minister Nasser Yassin, Coordinator of the National Disaster and Crisis Response Committee, oversees the delivery of aid at the “High Relief Commission” warehouse in Lebanon (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Lebanon’s Environment Minister Nasser Yassin, Coordinator of the National Disaster and Crisis Response Committee, oversees the delivery of aid at the “High Relief Commission” warehouse in Lebanon (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Lebanon’s Relief Commission Warehouses Filled with Saudi Aid for Distribution

Lebanon’s Environment Minister Nasser Yassin, Coordinator of the National Disaster and Crisis Response Committee, oversees the delivery of aid at the “High Relief Commission” warehouse in Lebanon (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Lebanon’s Environment Minister Nasser Yassin, Coordinator of the National Disaster and Crisis Response Committee, oversees the delivery of aid at the “High Relief Commission” warehouse in Lebanon (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Lebanon’s High Relief Commission has received hundreds of tons of Saudi relief aid at Rafic Hariri International Airport, delivered through an air bridge set up by Saudi Arabia to help over a million refugees displaced by the Israeli war.
The Commission deployed its staff and hundreds of volunteers to distribute the aid to more than 1.2 million refugees. Convoys have started transporting the supplies from the Commission’s warehouses in Beirut to shelters in the capital, Mount Lebanon, Bekaa, and northern regions.
Lebanon’s Environment Minister Nasser Yassin, Coordinator of the National Disaster and Crisis Response Committee, thanked Saudi King Salman, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and the Saudi people for setting up the air bridge to deliver urgent aid to Lebanon.
He noted that 1.2 million people have been displaced from their homes due to the crisis.
Yassin highlighted Saudi Arabia’s long-standing support for Lebanon, from the civil war and the Taif Agreement to its key role during the 2006 war.
“Once again, Saudi Arabia is standing by Lebanon in these difficult times,” he said.
Maj. Gen. Mohammad Khair, head of the High Relief Commission, called Saudi Arabia’s quick response a testament to the strong bond between the two countries.
He told Asharq Al-Awsat that Saudi aid is the largest and most significant so far, boosting Arab and international support for Lebanon. Four out of ten aid planes have already arrived, with the last one expected next Tuesday.
Saudi Arabia's support for Lebanon extends beyond the air bridge and aid shipments.
Khair announced that a Saudi delegation, sent by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has arrived to help distribute aid and assess the urgent needs of refugees.
The Saudi aid includes medical supplies delivered to the Ministry of Health, large quantities of food and shelter items, and 110,000 packs of baby formula, which have been greatly welcomed by displaced families.
Suleiman Shahrour, Secretary-General of the High Relief Commission, praised Saudi Arabia’s solidarity with Lebanon and thanked the Kingdom for its support.
He called on other countries to continue providing aid, as thousands of people are still in desperate need of food and shelter.

 



Rubio Says US Hostage Envoy’s Direct Meeting with Hamas Was ‘One-Off’

Envoy for Hostages Adam Boehler speaks during a US hostage and wrongful detainee flag raising ceremony at the State Department in Washington, DC, on March 6, 2025. (AFP)
Envoy for Hostages Adam Boehler speaks during a US hostage and wrongful detainee flag raising ceremony at the State Department in Washington, DC, on March 6, 2025. (AFP)
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Rubio Says US Hostage Envoy’s Direct Meeting with Hamas Was ‘One-Off’

Envoy for Hostages Adam Boehler speaks during a US hostage and wrongful detainee flag raising ceremony at the State Department in Washington, DC, on March 6, 2025. (AFP)
Envoy for Hostages Adam Boehler speaks during a US hostage and wrongful detainee flag raising ceremony at the State Department in Washington, DC, on March 6, 2025. (AFP)

President Donald Trump's hostage envoy Adam Boehler's direct meetings with Palestinian militant group Hamas on the release of hostages in Gaza was a "one-off situation" and as of now "hasn't borne fruit," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday.

"That was a one-off situation in which our special envoy for hostages, whose job it is to get people released, had an opportunity to talk directly to someone who has control over these people and was given permission and encouraged to do so. He did so," Rubio told reporters en route to Saudi Arabia.

"As of now, it hasn't borne fruit. Doesn't mean he was wrong to try, but our primary vehicle for negotiations on this front will continue to be Mr. Witkoff and the work he's doing through Qatar," Rubio said, in reference to Trump's special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff.

The discussions between Boehler and Hamas broke with a decades-old policy by Washington against negotiating with groups the US brands as terrorist organizations.

A senior Hamas official on Sunday told Reuters that the meetings between Hamas leaders and Boehler in recent days focused on the release of an American-Israeli dual national being held by the group in Gaza.

Boehler told CNN on Sunday that the talks were "very helpful" and, in an interview with Israel's N12 TV channel, he said that the Trump administration was focused on getting all the remaining 59 hostages out and ending the war.

Witkoff told reporters at the White House last week that gaining the release of Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old from New Jersey believed to be the last living American hostage held by Hamas in Gaza, was a "top priority for us".

Hamas carried out a cross-border raid into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, triggering an Israeli offensive into the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials.

Hamas fighters killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.