US announces $157 million in humanitarian aid to Lebanon
The US is providing $157 million in humanitarian aid to war-torn Lebanon, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, making the announcement as the country continues to be pounded daily by the Israeli military from south of Lebanon's border, killing thousands and sending tens of thousands fleeing. ran away from their homes.
This funding will address "the new and existing needs of internally displaced persons and the refugee population within Lebanon and the communities that host them," Blinken said in a statement Friday.
The aid "will also support those fleeing to neighboring Syria," he added.
The aid also includes about $82 million from the State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration and $75 million from the US Agency for International Development's (USAID) Office of Humanitarian Assistance, he said.
Blinken added that of that total, USAID has already allocated $11.5 million and, in cooperation with Congress, plans to release an additional $63.5 million in the coming weeks "to ensure that vital humanitarian assistance can continue to reach the most vulnerable communities." vulnerable in need."
Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of Israel's war in Gaza, which has killed more than 41,800 people, most of them women and children, following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last October.