Washington Extends for a Month Aid to Support Lebanese Army Salaries

Lebanese soldiers are seen at the Lebanese-Israeli border. (Lebanese Army Command)
Lebanese soldiers are seen at the Lebanese-Israeli border. (Lebanese Army Command)
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Washington Extends for a Month Aid to Support Lebanese Army Salaries

Lebanese soldiers are seen at the Lebanese-Israeli border. (Lebanese Army Command)
Lebanese soldiers are seen at the Lebanese-Israeli border. (Lebanese Army Command)

The United States has extended, exceptionally for a single month, its assistance to support the salaries of members of the Lebanese Army, informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The salaries of soldiers have dwindled in recent years after Lebanon’s economy began tanking in late 2019 and the collapse of the local currency. On average, a soldier used to earn around $800 a month before the crisis, but after the crash, salaries are now worth around $100.

To support the Army, the United States started in June cash distributions of $72 million for a period of six months, including a monthly payment of $100 for each military personnel. The last $100 payment was made in November.

However, the US administration recently took an “exceptional” decision to extend its assistance for only one month. A military source told Asharq Al-Awsat that soldiers have been receiving an additional $100 thanks to the latest move.

They revealed that starting February, Qatar will be paying the $100 for a two-month period.

A member of the army, 33, told Asharq Al-Awsat that he was paid $90 at the end of December.

The adjunct said he and his colleagues have yet to receive the US grant of $100. They also haven’t received the government’s “temporary assistance” of $79 due to a lack of funds.

“We also haven't been receiving food coupons that helped us buy rice, milk, flour and others,” he said, describing the situation as very difficult.

He revealed that he had to take up another job to make ends meet.

Commenting on the food program, an informed source told Asharq Al-Awsat that it stopped because of the rise in prices of goods and due to the inability to buy materials at subsidized prices.

He added that the food aid was initially planned to last only one year.

Meanwhile, Lebanese Army officers are no better off than their adjutants.

A captain, who wished to remain anonymous, said that at the end of December, he received a monthly salary of around $200.

Married with three children, he said he now mainly relies on his wife’s salary. She works for a private company for $700 a month.

Members of the army have resorted to working a second job, for which they would have been penalized by the military, but it has been turning a blind eye to the situation due to the severe crisis.



UNRWA Says ‘Growing Concerns’ Annexation behind Israeli West Bank Operation

An Israeli military vehicle is seen during a military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 04 March 2025. (EPA)
An Israeli military vehicle is seen during a military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 04 March 2025. (EPA)
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UNRWA Says ‘Growing Concerns’ Annexation behind Israeli West Bank Operation

An Israeli military vehicle is seen during a military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 04 March 2025. (EPA)
An Israeli military vehicle is seen during a military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 04 March 2025. (EPA)

A major offensive in the occupied West Bank which over several weeks has displaced tens of thousands of Palestinians and ravaged refugee camps increasingly appears to be part of Israel's "vision of annexation", a UN official told AFP.

Israeli forces carry out regular raids targeting gunmen in the West Bank, occupied since 1967, but the ongoing operation since late January is already the longest in two decades, with dire effects on Palestinians.

"It's an unprecedented situation, both from a humanitarian and wider political perspective," said Roland Friedrich, director of West Bank affairs for UNRWA, the UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees.

"We talk about 40,000 people that have been forcibly displaced from their homes" in the northern West Bank, mainly from three refugee camps where the operation had begun, said Friedrich.

"These camps are now largely empty," their residents unable to return and struggling to find shelter elsewhere, he said.

Inside the camps, the level of destruction to "electricity, sewage and water, but also private houses" was "very concerning", Friedrich added.

The Israeli operation, which the military says targets gunmen in the northern West Bank, was launched shortly after a truce took hold in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, a separate Palestinian territory.

The operation initially focused on Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps, where UNRWA operates, but has since expanded to more areas of the West Bank's north.

Friedrich warned that as the offensive drags on, there are increasing signs -- some backed by official Israeli statements -- that it could morph into permanent military presence in Palestinian cities.

"There are growing concerns that the reality being created on the ground aligns with the vision of annexation of the West Bank," he said.

- 'Political operation' -

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has said troops would remain for many months in the evacuated camps to "prevent the return of residents and the resurgence of terrorism".

And Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right politician who lives in one of dozens of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, has said that Israel would be "applying sovereignty" over parts of the territory in 2025.

According to Friedrich, "the statements we are hearing indicate that this is a political operation. It is clearly being said that people will not be allowed to return."

Last year the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion saying that Israel's prolonged presence in the West Bank was unlawful.

Away from home, the displaced Palestinian residents also grapple with a worsening financial burden.

"There is an increasing demand now, especially in Jenin, for public shelter, because people can't pay these amounts for rent anymore," said Friedrich.

"Everyone wants to go back to the camps."

The UN official provided examples he said pointed to plans for long-term Israeli presence inside Palestinian cities, which should be under the control of the Palestinian Authority (PA).

"In Tulkarem you have more and more reports about the army just walking around... asking shop owners to keep the shops open, going out and issuing traffic tickets to cars, so almost as if there is no Palestinian Authority," said Friedrich.

"It is very worrying, including for the future of the PA as such and the investments made by the international community into building Palestinian institutions."

The Ramallah-based PA was created in the 1990s as a temporary government that would pave the way to a future sovereign state.

- 'Radicalization' -

UNRWA is the main humanitarian agency for Palestinians, but a recent law bars the agency from working with the Israeli authorities, hindering its badly needed operations.

"It's much more complicated for us now because we can't speak directly to the military anymore," said Friedrich.

"But at the same time, we continue to do our work," he said, assessing needs and coordinating "the actual emergency response on the ground".

Israeli lawmakers had passed the legislation against UNRWA's work over accusations that it had provided cover for Hamas fighters in the Gaza Strip -- claims the UN and many donor governments dispute.

The prolonged Israeli operation could have long-term consequences for residents, particularly children traumatized by the experience of displacement, Friedrich warned.

"If people can't go back to the camp and we can't reopen the schools... clearly, that will lead to more radicalization going forward."

He said the situation could compound a legitimacy crisis for the PA, often criticized by armed Palestinian factions for coordinating security matters with Israel.

Displaced Palestinians "feel that they are kicked out of their homes and that nobody is supporting them", said Friedrich.

A "stronger international response" was needed, he added, "both to provide humanitarian aid on the ground, and secondly, to ensure that the situation in the West Bank doesn't spin out of control".