Lebanon Needs Billions in Foreign Aid as War Damage Overwhelms State

(MENAFN) Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam told parliament Tuesday that rebuilding the country will demand substantial Arab and international backing, warning that the devastation inflicted on Lebanon has outstripped what the state can shoulder alone.

Addressing lawmakers during a general policy debate, Salam said officials owe the Lebanese public candor: the destruction facing the country far exceeds the government's own capacity to address it. He argued that recovery cannot rest on domestic resources alone and will require major funding injections from abroad alongside Arab and international support.

Salam tied access to that funding directly to Lebanon's ability to rebuild public trust and push through reform, arguing that sustainable reconstruction depends on funding, funding depends on trust, and trust depends on having a capable state — which in turn, he said, can only be achieved through reform.

Turning to the Israeli offensive against Lebanon, Salam said Beirut "did not choose the war that overtook the country last March." He said Lebanon had no say in the matter at all, noting the conflict was thrust upon the country before it had even recovered from the wounds of the 2023-2024 war.

Citing World Bank figures, Salam said the initial war — which began Oct. 8, 2023 — carried a total estimated cost of roughly $14 billion. That figure, he said, breaks down into approximately $7.2 billion in physical damage and around $6.8 billion in economic losses stemming from halted activity and falling production and revenue.

For the more recent Israeli offensive that began last March, Salam cited World Bank estimates placing direct costs so far between $3 billion and $4 billion. He noted this figure excludes wider economic fallout beyond physical destruction, which preliminary estimates put at an additional $4 billion to $5 billion.

Lebanon has endured two devastating assaults since October 2023, leaving widespread destruction, extensive infrastructure and housing damage, and mounting economic losses in their wake.

On June 26, Lebanon and Israel signed a US-brokered framework agreement in Washington laying out a phased Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory, with the Lebanese army set to deploy into areas vacated by Israeli forces.

Yet despite that agreement, Israel has continued launching strikes on southern Lebanon and remains in control of territory in the south — some held for decades, other areas seized during more recent wars and military operations.

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