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Which Countries Have Pledged Aid to Lebanon as Conflict Worsened?

Photographers document damage in a building that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP)
Photographers document damage in a building that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP)
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Which Countries Have Pledged Aid to Lebanon as Conflict Worsened?

Photographers document damage in a building that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP)
Photographers document damage in a building that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP)

Israeli attacks on the Hezbollah group in Lebanon have killed more than 1,000 people and wounded 6,000 in the past two weeks, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Around a million people have fled their homes seeking safety in other parts of Lebanon or in neighboring Syria, sheltering mostly in schools with few supplies.

Below are some of the countries that have pledged or provided humanitarian aid to Lebanon as the Israel-Hezbollah conflict worsened in the last few days.

SAUDI ARABIA

Saudi Arabia has announced aid for the Lebanese population including medical assistance, state news agency SPA reported.

"The Kingdom has reiterated its commitment to standing by the Lebanese people as they face the challenges arising from the current circumstances, stressing the importance of addressing the humanitarian repercussions," SPA added.

EGYPT

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Sunday he had ordered the immediate dispatch of emergency medical and humanitarian aid to Lebanon.

During a phone call with Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Sisi reiterated Egypt's continued support for Lebanon on all levels.

JORDAN

The Jordanian armed forces sent a cargo plane on Sunday carrying humanitarian aid for the Lebanese army to assist in addressing the difficult conditions the country is experiencing.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan pledged to provide Lebanon with an urgent relief aid package worth $100 million on Monday, the state news agency reported.

The initiative was part of the country's continuing efforts to support Lebanon through its current challenges, "underscoring the nation's unwavering commitment to assisting the Lebanese people," it said.

EUROPEAN UNION

The European Union announced 10 million euros ($11.2 million) in humanitarian aid on Sunday to help people in Lebanon affected by the escalating hostilities.

The funding is intended to help provide protection, food assistance, shelter and healthcare, the European Commission said in a statement.

CANADA

Canada is contributing $10 million in humanitarian assistance for civilians in Lebanon, International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen said in a statement on Saturday.

FRANCE

Visiting Lebanon on Sunday to oversee a delivery of humanitarian aid, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said it contained 12 tons of medical equipment to be used to treat 1,000 seriously injured people.

"We will always stand by the civilians", Barrot added.

TÜRKIYE

A Turkish aircraft arrived in Lebanon last Wednesday carrying medical aid and supplies to support the Lebanese health sector, state-owned Anadolu news agency reported.

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With Israeli Tanks on the Ground, Lebanese Unable to Bury Dead

Mustafa Ibrahim al-Sayyed, who was displaced from Beit Lif in southern Lebanon saying there was tank fire around when he tried to venture into his home last week after the truce between Israel and Hezbollah, stands next to belongings in Tyre, southern Lebanon November 30, 2024. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
Mustafa Ibrahim al-Sayyed, who was displaced from Beit Lif in southern Lebanon saying there was tank fire around when he tried to venture into his home last week after the truce between Israel and Hezbollah, stands next to belongings in Tyre, southern Lebanon November 30, 2024. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
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With Israeli Tanks on the Ground, Lebanese Unable to Bury Dead

Mustafa Ibrahim al-Sayyed, who was displaced from Beit Lif in southern Lebanon saying there was tank fire around when he tried to venture into his home last week after the truce between Israel and Hezbollah, stands next to belongings in Tyre, southern Lebanon November 30, 2024. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
Mustafa Ibrahim al-Sayyed, who was displaced from Beit Lif in southern Lebanon saying there was tank fire around when he tried to venture into his home last week after the truce between Israel and Hezbollah, stands next to belongings in Tyre, southern Lebanon November 30, 2024. REUTERS/Aziz Taher

When a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah came into effect last week, Lebanese hotelier Abbas al-Tannoukhi leapt at the chance to bury a dead relative in their southern hometown of Khiyam, battered for weeks by intense clashes.

Tannoukhi's cousin had been killed in one of the final Israeli airstrikes on Beirut's suburbs before Wednesday's ceasefire, which stipulated an end to fighting so residents on both sides of the border could return home.

But with Israeli troops still deployed in southern Lebanon, Tannoukhi coordinated his movements with Lebanon's army. Last Friday, he and his relatives pulled into the family graveyard in Khiyam, six km (four miles) from the border, with an ambulance carrying his cousin's body.

"We just needed 30 minutes (to bury her)," Tannoukhi, 54, said. "But we were surprised when Israeli tanks encircled us - and that's when the gunfire started."

Tannoukhi fled with his relatives on foot through the brush, wounding his hand as he scrambled between rocks and olive groves to reach safety at a checkpoint operated by Lebanese troops.

Soon afterwards, they tried to reach the graveyard again but said they were fired on a second time. Shaky footage filmed by Tannoukhi features sprays of gunfire.

"We couldn't bury her. We had to leave her body there in the ambulance. But we will try again," he told Reuters.

The ordeal highlights the bitterness and confusion for residents of southern Lebanon who have been unable to return home because Israeli troops are still present on Lebanese territory.

Israel's military has issued orders to residents of 60 southern Lebanese towns not to return home, saying they are prohibited from accessing their hometowns until further notice.

The US-brokered ceasefire deal grants both Lebanon and Israel the right to self-defense, but does not include provisions on a buffer zone or restrictions for residents.

"Why did we go back? Because there's a ceasefire," Tannoukhi said. "It's a halt to hostilities. And it is a natural right for a son of the south to go to his house."

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

PEACE OF MIND

The ceasefire brought an end to over a year of hostilities between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, which began firing rockets at Israeli military targets in 2023 in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas in Gaza.

Israel went on the offensive in September, bombing swathes of Lebanon's south, east and the southern suburbs of Beirut. More than 1.2 million people fled their homes.

After the 60-day ceasefire came into effect last Wednesday, residents of Beirut's suburbs returned home to vast destruction, and some Lebanese from the south were able to return to homes further away from the border.

But both sides began accusing each other of breaking the deal, with Israel saying suspicious movements in villages along the south constituted violations and Lebanon's army pointing to Israeli tank fire and airstrikes as breaches.

Mustafa Ibrahim al-Sayyed, a father of 12, was hoping to return home to Beit Lif, about two km from the border.

But nearly a week into the ceasefire, he is still living at a displacement shelter near Tyre, a coastal city about 25 km from the border.

He tried to venture home alone last week, but as soon as he arrived, there was tank fire around the town and he received a warning on his phone that his town was in the Israeli military's "no-go" zone.

Sayyed is still stuck in displacement and wants to get home.

"I hope we go back to our town so we can get peace of mind," he said.