Belgium is sending additional medical and shelter equipment to Lebanon, which has been targeted by Israeli airstrikes in several areas. It has also released a further €2 million in financial support.
The Belgian Government has freed up €2 million in additional funds "to support the Lebanese people" in Israel's ongoing invasion of the country, outgoing Development Cooperation Minister Frank Vandenbroucke (Vooruit) said. This contribution is part of a major international mobilisation in support of Lebanon.
"It is important for the spiral of violence to come to a rapid end and for Lebanon to be able to extricate itself from the current societal, social and economic crisis," he said. "This will only be possible with the international community's support." The funds should help meet the basic needs and guarantee the income of the most vulnerable, "in particular the more than 1.5 million displaced people and refugees who have been driven from their homes by the war."
Meanwhile, Belgium's Foreign Affairs Ministry announced that it was sending Lebanon medical equipment worth €100,000, as well as accommodation capacity and shelters worth €80,000, via the B-FAST mechanism. This is the Federal Government structure activated for emergency assistance abroad. Earlier this month, Belgium delivered medical equipment worth €150,000 to Lebanese public hospitals.
These resources are urgently needed, Vandenbroucke said. He met the Lebanese ambassador to Belgium at the start of this week, who warned that some medicines and medical supplies are in short supply. "As winter approaches, it seems that the situation is only getting worse."
'End spiral of violence'
Vandenbroucke is currently in Paris taking part in an international conference on the situation in Lebanon, organised in Paris by French President Emmanuel Macron. Here, his message will be for an immediate halt to attacks on humanitarian workers and medical facilities.
At the conference, Belgium is also calling for an immediate ceasefire and has condemned Israel's attacks on UNIFIL peacekeepers in southern Lebanon. Israel is suspected of shooting white phosphorous rounds by the base of UN peacekeepers, wounding 15 people.
It is also urging for the full implementation of UN Security Council resolutions aimed at guaranteeing Lebanon's territorial integrity and the functioning of its institutions.
Following a year of exchange of attacks between Israel and Hezbollah which started on 8 October 2023, when Hezbollah first launched attacks on Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians, the spillover of the Israel war in Gaza intensified when Israel invaded southern Lebanon at the start of this month. The death toll in Lebanon is believed to have surpassed 2,500 since fighting erupted between Hezbollah and Israel.
