Relief supplies begin to arrive in Lebanon
France mobilised to send urgent aid to Lebanon, the Red Cross managed to get relief supplies to the south, and Israel agreed to allow a safe corridor for ensuring that food and medicine reaches those in need.
International efforts to get humanitarian aid to Lebanon appeared to be getting off the ground at last yesterday. Demands mounted for safe passage for aid to millions of Lebanese increasingly isolated by Israel’s air and sea blockade.
Israeli airstrikes have demolished bridges and main roads across the south, making movement difficult and dangerous. Some villages have been almost completely cut off, and numerous civilian cars and trucks have been hit on the roads. In the only confirmed strike on an aid delivery, a convoy carrying medical supplies sent from the United Arab Emirates was hit on July 18, setting a truck on fire and damaging another.
Responding to intense international pressure, including an appeal from the US, Israel’s UN Ambassador Dan Gillerman said he expected a corridor for food, medicine and other supplies to be opened later yesterday or today.
The Israeli army chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, said in Tel Aviv yesterday that Israel had decided to allow a safe path for evacuations, and another corridor for humanitarian aid, “out of an understanding for the developing difficulty”.
Israeli Defence Minister Amir Peretz said French humanitarian aid arriving yesterday on a French ship at the south Lebanese port of Sidon would be allowed through.
Several countries pledged to contribute to international aid efforts, though France was one of the few to organise relief on its own. France has historic ties to Lebanon and has been instrumental in the international push to end the violence.
Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said during a visit to Beirut yesterday that France was dispatching urgent aid to Lebanon by air and sea, and pleaded for safe passage.
The son of slain Lebanese ex-premier Rafik Hariri thanked French President Jacques Chirac yesterday for his diplomatic efforts, saying “without France, the humanitarian corridor wouldn’t be possible”.
Aid workers are worried about decreasing supplies of safe water and sanitation, but say it is difficult to assess needs because they are having trouble moving around the country.
The International Committee of the Red Cross yesterday made its first attempt since the fighting began last week to supply the coastal city of Tyre in southern Lebanon.
The convoy arrived after a six-hour journey over war-damaged roads from Beirut. The relief effort – co-ordinated with Israeli authorities – brought 24 tons of food, medical supplies and other assistance to the port city, according to spokesman Vincent Lusser.
UNICEF will be delivering water kits, purification tablets, water containers, essential drugs and toys over the weekend to Damascus for road shipment to Lebanon.
“We’re talking about kids that have suffered from scars that have been inflicted over the last few days that are likely to last a generation. Finding some way to find some kind of normalcy in a completely abnormal situation is another one of our priorities,” UNICEF spokeswoman Wivina Belmonte said.
Stockpiles of aid supplies are growing as countries worldwide pledge funds.
Britain’s Department for International Development announced £2m (€2.9m) of aid to be sent through EU and other international agencies. It is also arranging for reconstruction advisers to be sent to the region.
Greece delivered 22 tons of medical and other aid to Beirut yesterday on a Greek Navy ship that in turn took evacuees to Cyprus. Doctors accompanied the shipments of medical materials, tents, blankets, and canned food.
Turkey’s Red Crescent announced yesterday that it will ship food, medicine, diapers and baby food to a logistics centre in Syria early next week for distribution by the Lebanese Red Cross.
Iranian newspapers and state-run television have carried bank account numbers for government aid donations for Lebanese civilians. Iran’s Health Ministry said it was prepared to send medical supplies and treat Lebanese war casualties at Iranian hospitals.
An overall UN appeal for aid was to be launched on Monday in New York. UN officials estimated that half a million people have been displaced by fighting between Israel and Hezbollah militias based in southern Lebanon.
Bernard Kouchner, co-founder of Doctors Without Borders and the first UN administrator for Kosovo, said humanitarian corridors were not enough.
“That won’t settle the fundamental problem,” he said on France Inter radio, calling for an immediate ceasefire and a UN resolution allowing for military force.
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