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BEIRUT: The World Bank announced on Wednesday it had approved a $250 million project to support Lebanon’s reconstruction and recovery following last year’s devastating war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.
The bank had previously estimated reconstruction and recovery to cost around $11 billion.
“The World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved yesterday a $250 million financing to Lebanon to support the most urgent repair and reconstruction of damaged critical public infrastructure and lifeline services, and the sustainable management of rubble in conflict-affected areas,” it said in a statement.
Jean-Christophe Carret, the World Bank Middle East Department’s division director, said that “given Lebanon’s large reconstruction needs, the (project) is structured as a $1 billion scalable framework with an initial $250 million contribution from the World Bank.”
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam welcomed the decision, calling the project “a key step in reconstruction by responding to damage to critical infrastructure and essential services in war-affected areas.”
“This support strengthens recovery efforts within the state-led implementation framework and leverages much-needed additional financing,” he said.
More than a year of hostilities between Lebanese group Hezbollah and Israel, including a full-blown war that began in September, ended with a ceasefire agreement in late November.
The conflict caused massive destruction across Lebanon, particularly in Hezbollah strongholds in the country’s south and east and in Beirut’s southern suburbs, and further exacerbated economic woes caused by an economic crisis that started in 2019.
Reconstruction remains one of the greatest challenges facing Lebanon’s government, with Beirut seeking foreign aid to finance the post-war recovery.

GAZA CITY: Gaza’s civil defense agency said Israeli fire killed at least 20 people on Wednesday, including six who were waiting to collect food aid in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.

The latest in a string of deadly incidents near aid distribution sites came after the United Nations had condemned the “weaponization of food” in the Gaza Strip, where a US- and Israeli-backed foundation has largely replaced established humanitarian organizations.

Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that six people were killed and 30 others wounded “following Israeli fire targeting thousands of civilians waiting for aid” in an area of central Gaza where Palestinians have gathered each night in the hope of collecting food rations.

Bassal said the crowd was hit by Israeli “bullets and tank shells.”

Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it was “looking into” the report.

Pressure grew Tuesday on the privately run aid group Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which was brought into the Palestinian territory at the end of May to replace United Nations agencies but whose operations have been marred by chaotic scenes and neutrality concerns.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, called the US- and Israeli-backed system an “abomination” that has put Palestinians’ lives at risk, while a spokesman for the UN human rights office, Thameen Al-Kheetan, condemned the “weaponization of food” in the territory.

Despite easing its aid blockade in May, Israel continues to impose restrictions.

The health ministry says that since late May, more than 500 people have been killed near aid centers seeking scarce supplies. The civil defense agency said Israeli forces killed 46 people waiting for aid on Tuesday.

The GHF has denied responsibility for deaths near its aid points.

Bassal, the civil defense spokesman, said Israeli air strikes on central and northern Gaza early Wednesday killed at least 14 people.

A pre-dawn strike on a house in the central Nuseirat refugee camp killed six people including a child, with eight others killed in two separate strikes on houses in Deir el-Balah and east of Gaza City, Bassal said.

Israeli restrictions on media in the Gaza Strip and difficulties in accessing some areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by rescuers and authorities in the Palestinian territory.

The war was triggered by Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 56,077 people, also mostly civilians, according to the Gaza health ministry. The United Nations considers its figures reliable.