EU’s aid to Lebanon tops EUR 108 mln

The combined assistance of the European Union to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Lebanon amounts to over 108-million euros in monetary terms alone. In addition, substantial amount of aid in kind in the form of food, medicine, and shelter has been provided.A report of the humanitarian assistance to Lebanon and the combined efforts of the Community and Member States was discussed at an an extraordinary meeting of the Council on Tuesday, 1 August, in Brussels. The foreign ministers were called to the emergency meeting by the EU President Finland to assess the situation in Lebanon in view of the most recent developments and to prepare further action following the International Conference on Lebanon in Rome on 26 July.As a result of the hostilities, there have been 620 fatalities reported so far in Lebanon, 51 in Israel, and 4 UN observers. The high number of Internally Displaced People, over 700,000, has created an urgent need for appropriate shelter, food, safe drinking water, and medical attention. 150 000 refugees have crossed borders to Syria and other countries.