Pompeo on Lebanon: Only a Cabinet Committed to Reform Will Unlock Int’l Aid

FILE PHOTO: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announces new sanctions on Iran in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, US, January 10, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
FILE PHOTO: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announces new sanctions on Iran in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, US, January 10, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
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Pompeo on Lebanon: Only a Cabinet Committed to Reform Will Unlock Int’l Aid

FILE PHOTO: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announces new sanctions on Iran in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, US, January 10, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
FILE PHOTO: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announces new sanctions on Iran in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, US, January 10, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

The United States called Wednesday on the new government of Lebanese PM Hassan Diab to enact serious reforms to tackle the twin challenges of a collapsing economy and angry street protests.

"The test of Lebanon's new government will be its actions and its responsiveness to the demands of the Lebanese people to implement reforms and to fight corruption," US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.

"Only a government that is capable of and committed to undertaking real and tangible reforms will restore investor confidence and unlock international assistance for Lebanon," he added.

Diab said Wednesday his country faces a "catastrophe" after the cabinet held its first meeting.

A long-brewing discontent has been compounded by fears of a total economic collapse in recent weeks, with a liquidity crunch pushing banks to impose crippling capital controls.

On Wednesday, some protesters unhappy with the new cabinet breached a small security barricade near parliament in downtown Beirut and set on fire a tent for security forces, who responded with tear gas and water cannon.

The skirmishes extended to a nearby luxury shopping district. A civil defense worker told local media some people suffered slight injuries. Last weekend, hundreds were injured in similar clashes.

President Michel Aoun tasked the government at its first meeting on Wednesday with restoring international confidence,



Israeli Fire Kills 23 People in Gaza, Many at Aid Site

Two Palestinians ride a small boat at the seafront next to a tent camp in the Gaza City port, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Two Palestinians ride a small boat at the seafront next to a tent camp in the Gaza City port, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
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Israeli Fire Kills 23 People in Gaza, Many at Aid Site

Two Palestinians ride a small boat at the seafront next to a tent camp in the Gaza City port, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Two Palestinians ride a small boat at the seafront next to a tent camp in the Gaza City port, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Israeli fire and airstrikes killed at least 23 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip, most of them near an aid distribution site operated by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, local health authorities said.

Medics at Al-Awda and Al-Aqsa Hospitals in central Gaza areas, where most of the casualties were moved to, said at least 15 people were killed as they tried to approach the GHF aid distribution site near the Netzarim corridor.

The rest were killed in separate attacks across the enclave, they added. There has been no immediate comment by the Israeli military or the GHF on Saturday's incidents, Reuters reported.

The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza at the end of May, overseeing a new model of aid distribution which the United Nations says is neither impartial nor neutral.

The Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Saturday at least 274 people have so far been killed, and more than 2,000 wounded, near aid distribution sites since the GHF began operations in Gaza.

Later on Saturday, the Israeli military ordered residents of Khan Younis and the nearby towns of Abassan and Bani Suhaila in the southern Gaza Strip to leave their homes and head west towards the so-called humanitarian zone area, saying it would forcefully work against "terror organizations" in the area.