Countries pledge $1 billion to aid Lebanese, bolster army amid calls for ceasefire
Sum raised at Paris conference nearly double figure requested to help cash-strapped Beirut deal with effects of war, as UN official warns Lebanese economy starting to crumble
A Paris conference on aid for conflict-stricken Lebanon raised around $800 million for humanitarian assistance and millions more to bolster the country’s army Thursday, but saw little diplomatic progress toward ending fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah terror group.
The total far outstripped both France’s target of 500 million euros and the $426 million originally requested by the UN for Lebanon, where French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said over 2,500 people had been killed and “almost one million” displaced in fighting since late September.
“In total, we have jointly gathered $800 million in humanitarian aid,” Barrot told participants as the conference closed.
He added that there was a further “$200 million for the security forces” bringing the total to “almost a billion, even more than a billion… with the latest contributions.”
Israel launched an air offensive and limited ground incursion in southern Lebanon last month aimed at ending a year of cross-border attacks by Iran-backed Hezbollah meant to support the Hamas terror group following the devastating October 7, 2023 attack. The attacks have killed dozens of civilians and soldiers and forced some 60,000 residents of northern Israel to evacuate their homes, with millions more under constant threat of bombardment from Hezbollah and other Iranian proxies in the region.
The Paris conference had gathered over 70 nations and international organizations to boost aid for Lebanon, which has largely failed to rein in Hezbollah, with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calling on participants to “strengthen their support to state institutions, including the Lebanese armed forces.”
“We have risen to the occasion,” Barrot told participants. Major pledges included about $300 million from the United States, 100 million euros ($108 million) from France, 95 million euros ($103 million) from Germany and at least 15 million pounds ($20 million) from Britain.
Nevertheless, “we cannot limit ourselves to a humanitarian and security response… we have to bring about a diplomatic solution,” he added.
But while there were repeated calls for a ceasefire, diplomatic progress in Paris was limited, with neither Israel nor Iran present and the US represented only by a deputy to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
France, which has historic ties to Lebanon and hosts a large Lebanese diaspora, is pushing alongside the US for a 21-day ceasefire to give space to find a more lasting truce.
Paris wants a return to UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which requires that the Lebanese Armed Forces be the only force with arms in southern Lebanon.
The resolution has gone largely unenforced since it was passed following Israel and Hezbollah’s last major engagement in 2006, allowing Hezbollah to build up a formidable arms cache and defensive capabilities, with neither the peacekeeping mission known as UNIFIL nor the LAF challenging the Iran-backed terror group.
“The war must end as soon as possible, there must be a ceasefire in Lebanon,” French President Emmanuel Macron said, sitting alongside the country’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
The Lebanese government chief in turn called on “the international community to hold together and support efforts… to implement an immediate ceasefire.”
“The devastating impact of this war on our nation cannot be overstated, and it has left a trail of destruction and misery in its wake. The Israelis’ aggression has not only caused immense human suffering and loss of lives but also inflicted severe damage to the country’s infrastructure, economy and social fabric,” Mikati said.
Opening the confab, Macron condemned Israel for continuing its military operations in Lebanon against Hezbollah, “in the south, in Beirut, elsewhere, and that the number of civilian victims continues to rise,” and reiterated his call for a ceasefire.
Although Israel has eliminated Hezbollah leaders over recent weeks, it “knows from experience that its military successes do not necessarily represent victory in Lebanon,” Macron said.
He added that Hezbollah must “stop its provocations… and indiscriminate strikes” against Israel.
In recent weeks, Macron has appeared to toughen his stance against Israel while repeatedly calling for a ceasefire in both Lebanon and Gaza, condemning the “unbearable human toll.” He reiterated his call on Monday while speaking by phone with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his office said.
There have been recent tensions between the French and Israeli leaders, especially after Macron called for a halt to arms exports for use in Gaza.
Macron has also strongly condemned what he says is the “deliberate” targeting by Israel of UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, which Israel has denied.
Conference participants discussed how to support the 10,500-soldier-strong UNIFIL. European nations including France, Italy and Spain provide a third of its troops.
Italy, which has over 1,000 troops in UNIFIL, is pushing for the peacekeeping force to be strengthened to “be able to face the new situation” on the ground, an Italian diplomat said, speaking anonymously to discuss ongoing talks.
Guterres said Thursday that “attacks on UN peacekeepers are totally unacceptable and are contrary to international law, contrary to international humanitarian law and may constitute a war crime.”
He also called on Lebanon’s leaders “to take decisive action to ensure the proper functioning of state institutions in order to meet the country’s urgent political and security challenges.”
France was hoping to coordinate international support to strengthen Lebanon’s armed forces so they can “deploy more broadly and efficiently” in the country’s south as part of a potential deal to end the war. Such a deal could see Hezbollah withdraw its forces from the border.
International support may include equipment, training and financial aid to hire troops and ensure the army’s daily needs, Macron’s office said.
Lebanon’s army has been hit hard by five years of economic crisis. It has an aging arsenal and no air defenses.
The Lebanese army has about 80,000 troops, around 5,000 of them deployed in the south. Hezbollah has more than 100,000 fighters, according to the terror group’s former leader Hassan Nasrallah, killed in an Israeli strike last month. Hezbollah’s arsenal — built with support from Iran — is more advanced.
“Resolution 1701… remains the cornerstone of stability and security in southern Lebanon,” Mikati said, echoing France’s view.
UN Development Program chief Achim Steiner warned that Lebanon’s economy was “beginning to collapse under the pressure of this conflict,” predicting a contraction of more than nine percent this year if the war continues.
“Anything that does not bring about an immediate end to the destruction and killing would make this summit a failure,” Bachir Ayoub, aid group Oxfam’s Lebanon chief, said before the conference ended.
Oxfam was among over 150 aid groups to denounce on Thursday “flagrant disregard for international law by the international community” over Israel’s military actions in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon.
“Without accountability, there will be no red lines,” they added.
The International Organization for Migration has said about 800,000 people are displaced in Lebanon, with many now in overcrowded shelters, while others have fled across the border into Syria.
The cash-strapped Lebanese government is ill-prepared to deal with the crisis or the increased demands on its health system. A number of hospitals have been evacuated because of nearby airstrikes and fears that they might be targeted. Israel has accused Hezbollah of using civilians as human shields, including at hospitals.
Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza amid the war there.
Some 60,000 residents were evacuated from northern towns on the Lebanon border shortly after Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, amid fears Hezbollah would carry out a similar attack, and increasing rocket fire by the terror group.
The attacks on northern Israel since October 2023 have resulted in the deaths of 29 civilians. In addition, 55 IDF soldiers and reservists have died in cross-border skirmishes and in the ensuing ground operation launched in southern Lebanon in late September.
The IDF estimates that more than 2,000 Hezbollah operatives have been killed in the conflict, including 516 named by the terror group.
