Russia to Donate 25,000 Tons of Wheat to Lebanon

An employee unloads wheat grains inside a storage in the village of Zghurivka, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv region, Ukraine August 9, 2022. (Reuters)
An employee unloads wheat grains inside a storage in the village of Zghurivka, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv region, Ukraine August 9, 2022. (Reuters)
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Russia to Donate 25,000 Tons of Wheat to Lebanon

An employee unloads wheat grains inside a storage in the village of Zghurivka, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv region, Ukraine August 9, 2022. (Reuters)
An employee unloads wheat grains inside a storage in the village of Zghurivka, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv region, Ukraine August 9, 2022. (Reuters)

Russia will donate 25,000 tons of wheat to crisis-hit Lebanon, the public works minister said on Monday.

Russia would also donate 10,000 tons of fuel oil to Beirut, minister Ali Hamie told Reuters, without elaborating.

The Russian embassy in Lebanon did not respond to a request for comment.

News of the donation comes after Russia said on Saturday it was halting its participation in the United Nations-brokered Black Sea Grain Initiative that facilitates the passage of cargo ships through the Black Sea amid the war.

The initiative had eased food security concerns, especially in parts of the developing world heavily dependent of imports of grain. Ships carrying grain continued to sail from Ukrainian ports on Monday.

Lebanon is in the fourth year of the most serious crisis since a 1975-90 civil war. The national currency has lost more than 90% of its value since 2019, leaving the cash-strapped government struggling to pay for imports of basic goods.



Israel Conducts More Ground Raids in Southern Lebanon, Strikes Beirut Suburbs

Rubble is scattered at the site of an Israeli overnight airstrike that targeted a house in the town of Ablah in Lebanon's Bekaa valley on October 5, 2024. (AFP)
Rubble is scattered at the site of an Israeli overnight airstrike that targeted a house in the town of Ablah in Lebanon's Bekaa valley on October 5, 2024. (AFP)
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Israel Conducts More Ground Raids in Southern Lebanon, Strikes Beirut Suburbs

Rubble is scattered at the site of an Israeli overnight airstrike that targeted a house in the town of Ablah in Lebanon's Bekaa valley on October 5, 2024. (AFP)
Rubble is scattered at the site of an Israeli overnight airstrike that targeted a house in the town of Ablah in Lebanon's Bekaa valley on October 5, 2024. (AFP)

The Israeli military said on Saturday that special forces were carrying out ground raids against Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon, destroying missiles, launchpads, watchtowers and weapons storage facilities.

The military said troops also dismantled tunnel shafts that Hezbollah used to approach the Israeli border.

Israeli airstrikes also hit areas in eastern Lebanon, according to state media. At least six people were killed, according to Lebanon’s state National News Agency (NNA).

Some 1,400 Lebanese, including Hezbollah fighters and civilians, have been killed and some 1.2 million driven from their homes since Israel escalated its strikes in late September aiming to cripple Hezbollah and push it away from the countries’ shared border.

On Tuesday, Israel launched a limited ground operation into southern Lebanon. Nine Israeli troops have been killed in close fighting in the area in the past few days, which is saturated with arms and explosives, the military said.

Beirut’s southern suburbs was hit by 12 Israeli airstrikes early Saturday, including one that badly damaged a large hall Hezbollah has used to hold ceremonies, said NNA.

Later in the day, more strikes hit the area, from which tens of thousands of people have fled over the past two weeks.