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US to Give $404 Mn in New Aid for Palestinians

Secretary of State Antony Blinken - The AP
Secretary of State Antony Blinken - The AP
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US to Give $404 Mn in New Aid for Palestinians

Secretary of State Antony Blinken - The AP
Secretary of State Antony Blinken - The AP

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday announced $404 million in new US assistance for the Palestinians, as he urged other countries including US critics also to give money to address Gaza's humanitarian crisis.

The aid, announced at an emergency aid conference in Jordan, brings the total US contribution to Palestinians -- in Gaza, the West Bank and the region -- to $674 million since war broke out in October, according to the State Department.

But Blinken noted that a UN appeal for the Palestinians was only one-third funded, with a shortfall of some $2.3 billion, AFP reported.

"Some have expressed great concern over the suffering of the Palestinian people in Gaza, including countries with the capacity to give a lot, have provided very little or nothing at all," Blinken told an emergency aid conference in Jordan.

"It is time for everyone -- everyone -- to step up. And for those who have already given and given generously, give more," he said.

Blinken did not specify how the United States would deliver the assistance but Washington -- the largest donor to the Palestinians -- has focused on the World Food Program and private aid groups.

The US Congress has banned further contributions to the main provider of assistance on the ground -- UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.

 

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Arab World

Hezbollah Accepts Resignation of Senior Security Official Wafiq Safa

Lebanon’s Hezbollah members carry Hezbollah flags during the funeral of a fellow fighter, in al-Ghaziyeh village, southern Lebanon May 26, 2015. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho
Lebanon’s Hezbollah members carry Hezbollah flags during the funeral of a fellow fighter, in al-Ghaziyeh village, southern Lebanon May 26, 2015. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho
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Hezbollah Accepts Resignation of Senior Security Official Wafiq Safa

Lebanon’s Hezbollah members carry Hezbollah flags during the funeral of a fellow fighter, in al-Ghaziyeh village, southern Lebanon May 26, 2015. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho
Lebanon’s Hezbollah members carry Hezbollah flags during the funeral of a fellow fighter, in al-Ghaziyeh village, southern Lebanon May 26, 2015. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho

Lebanon's Hezbollah accepted the resignation on Friday of senior security official Wafiq Safa, the first time an official of his rank has stepped down, sources familiar with the group's thinking told Reuters.

Safa, who heads Hezbollah's liaison and coordination unit responsible for working with Lebanese security agencies, survived an Israeli assassination attempt in October 2024.

Arab World

Lebanon and Syria Ink Deal on Prisoner Handover

People carry Syrian flags of the opposition as they celebrate the ouster of the Assad regime in Damascus, in Tripoli, northern Lebanon, 08 December 2024. (EPA)
People carry Syrian flags of the opposition as they celebrate the ouster of the Assad regime in Damascus, in Tripoli, northern Lebanon, 08 December 2024. (EPA)
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Lebanon and Syria Ink Deal on Prisoner Handover

People carry Syrian flags of the opposition as they celebrate the ouster of the Assad regime in Damascus, in Tripoli, northern Lebanon, 08 December 2024. (EPA)
People carry Syrian flags of the opposition as they celebrate the ouster of the Assad regime in Damascus, in Tripoli, northern Lebanon, 08 December 2024. (EPA)

Lebanon inked an agreement with Syria on Friday to hand some 300 convicts over to Damascus, a move seen as key to helping turn a new page in ties between the countries.

Overcrowded Lebanese prisons hold more than 2,200 Syrians held on various charges.

Many of them are still awaiting trial, while hundreds accused of "terrorism" or related offences including attacks on Lebanese forces have been brought before military courts, according to AFP.

Others are in custody for alleged membership in militant or armed groups that were opposed to now ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, who was supported by Lebanon's Hezbollah group during the Syrian civil war.

Lebanese Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri and Syrian Justice Minister Mazhar al-Wais announced the signing of the agreement at a press conference in Beirut.

Wais called it "an important step on the path to justice in addressing the situation of convicts who have spent a long time in prison and whose cases were among the most complex legally".

The agreement covers around 300 convicts, while the remaining detainees require "long procedures" before a similar agreement on them can be reached, Wais said.

The deal reinforces "the trust and political will that already exists between the two countries", he said, expressing hope it would help improve ties.

Lebanese authorities have said that the convicts who meet the requirements, including having spent at least 10 years behind bars, will be handed over to Syria where they will serve the rest of their sentences.

Mitri told AFP that cooperation extended beyond the issue of convicts, with officials working to "resolve all common issues that will set bilateral relations right".

The first step following the deal's signing would be a cabinet decision to "abolish the Lebanese-Syrian Higher Council", an Assad-era body.

Authorities will also review "unfair agreements concluded during the time of Syrian tutelage in Lebanon, as well as the demarcation of the land and maritime borders", Mitri added.

Syria's army entered Lebanon in 1976 as part of an Arab force that was supposed to put an end to the Lebanese civil war which began a year earlier.

Instead Syria became the dominant military and political force in Lebanon, looming over all aspects of Lebanese life.

Syrian forces only withdrew from the country in 2005 after enormous pressure following the assassination of former prime minister Rafic Hariri, a killing attributed to Damascus and its ally Hezbollah.

Arab World

French FM: Lebanese Army Must be Given 'Means' to Disarm Hezbollah

France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot gives a joint press conference with the President of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan Region in Erbil, the regional capital, on February 5, 2026. (Photo by Safin HAMID / AFP)
France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot gives a joint press conference with the President of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan Region in Erbil, the regional capital, on February 5, 2026. (Photo by Safin HAMID / AFP)
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French FM: Lebanese Army Must be Given 'Means' to Disarm Hezbollah

France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot gives a joint press conference with the President of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan Region in Erbil, the regional capital, on February 5, 2026. (Photo by Safin HAMID / AFP)
France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot gives a joint press conference with the President of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan Region in Erbil, the regional capital, on February 5, 2026. (Photo by Safin HAMID / AFP)

Lebanon's army must be given the means to disarm Hezbollah, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told AFP ahead of his expected arrival in Beirut on Friday.

"France's vision for Lebanon is that of a strong, sovereign state holding a monopoly on arms," he said.

"The first step to fulfil this mission is to give the Lebanese Armed Forces the means to continue the work of disarming Hezbollah," added the minister, whose country will host a conference in support of the Lebanese army on March 5.

Hezbollah emerged weakened from its latest war with Israel, which ended in a November 2024 ceasefire agreement.

In line with the agreement, the Lebanese army announced in January that it had completed the first phase of a government plan to disarm Hezbollah, covering the area between the Litani River and the Israeli border about thirty kilometers (20 miles) south.

"The Lebanese government has shouldered its responsibilities by launching and carrying through to completion the first phase of this disarmament plan," Barrot said.

"The second phase must now begin, and the plan associated with this phase is to be presented in the coming days, and in any case before the conference is held," he continued.

The second phase of the plan concerns the area between the Litani and the Awali rivers, around forty kilometers south of Beirut.

Hezbollah has thus far refused to hand over its weapons north of the Litani.

The French foreign minister is due to meet Lebanon's top officials in Beirut on Friday, the final stop of a tour that has taken him to Syria and Iraq.