US Official: Lebanon Has 'No Other Way Out' of Crisis than IMF Deal

Demonstrators carry banners during a protest organized by Depositors' Outcry, a group campaigning for angry depositors, near Lebanon's Central Bank building in Beirut, Lebanon October 5, 2022. REUTERS/Aziz Taher/File Photo
Demonstrators carry banners during a protest organized by Depositors' Outcry, a group campaigning for angry depositors, near Lebanon's Central Bank building in Beirut, Lebanon October 5, 2022. REUTERS/Aziz Taher/File Photo
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US Official: Lebanon Has 'No Other Way Out' of Crisis than IMF Deal

Demonstrators carry banners during a protest organized by Depositors' Outcry, a group campaigning for angry depositors, near Lebanon's Central Bank building in Beirut, Lebanon October 5, 2022. REUTERS/Aziz Taher/File Photo
Demonstrators carry banners during a protest organized by Depositors' Outcry, a group campaigning for angry depositors, near Lebanon's Central Bank building in Beirut, Lebanon October 5, 2022. REUTERS/Aziz Taher/File Photo

Lebanon has no alternative for economic recovery but to make progress on a deal with the International Monetary Fund, US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf said in an online briefing on Thursday.

Leaf, who visited Lebanon and other countries in the region in recent weeks, said Lebanese leaders appeared to lack a "sense of urgency" to get their country out of a severe economic and political crisis.

The IMF warned last Thursday that Lebanon was in a very dangerous situation a year after it committed to reforms it has failed to implement.

IMF mission chief Ernesto Rigo told a news conference in Beirut that the authorities should accelerate the implementation of conditions set for a $3 billion bailout.

Lebanon signed a staff-level agreement with the IMF nearly one year ago but has not met the conditions to secure a full program, which is seen as crucial for its recovery from one of the world's worst financial crises.



Blinken Speaks to Israel’s Dermer about Humanitarian Situation in Gaza

 A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
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Blinken Speaks to Israel’s Dermer about Humanitarian Situation in Gaza

 A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized the importance of improving the humanitarian situation in Gaza in a meeting with Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer in Washington on Monday, the State Department said.

Dermer updated Blinken on operational changes and policy decisions taken by Israel in response to a US letter sent in October, the department said in a statement on Tuesday.

Blinken "emphasized the importance of ensuring those changes lead to an actual improvement in the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, including through the delivery of additional assistance to civilians throughout Gaza," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in the statement.