Lebanon Reconstruction Needs Vast Arab, International Aid, PM Says
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam stated on Tuesday that his country's reconstruction and recovery efforts require substantial Arab and international support and external funding, given the scale of destruction exceeds the state's current resources. Addressing parliament, Salam emphasized that the "scale of destruction is much greater than the state's capacity." He linked securing necessary funding to restoring confidence and implementing reforms, asserting, "There is no sustainable reconstruction without funding, no funding without trust, and no trust without a capable state, and reaching a capable state requires reform, of course."
Salam also addressed the ongoing Israeli military actions, noting that Lebanon "did not choose the war that befell the country in March" and that it was "imposed" before the deep wounds from the 2023-2024 conflict had healed. He cited a World Bank estimate placing the cost of the initial conflict, starting October 8, 2023, at approximately $14 billion, comprising about $7.2 billion in material damage and $6.8 billion in economic losses. Salam added that a more recent Israeli escalation, beginning March 2, 2026, has direct costs estimated by the World Bank between $3 billion and $4 billion, with preliminary estimates of associated economic costs ranging from $4 billion to $5 billion.
In a related development, the U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon, Michel Issa, visited a "pilot zone" in the south on Tuesday, a village transferred from Israeli to Lebanese army control. This visit is seen as an initial test of a U.S.-brokered agreement between Lebanon and Israel that has faced implementation challenges. The framework agreement, signed in late June, stipulates gradual Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory in exchange for Hezbollah's disarmament, with the Lebanese army deploying to the vacated areas.
The Lebanese news agency reported the ambassador's visit to the village of Zawtar al-Gharbiya, noting an Israeli drone and military vehicle movements in the vicinity. The Israeli military occupies significant areas of southern Lebanon and recently destroyed a Hezbollah facility near Nabatieh. The agreement's stalled implementation comes as a new round of negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, initially scheduled for this month, has been postponed to October. An Israeli official reportedly rejected discussing new "pilot zones" in the last negotiation round until the Lebanese army fully controls the initial two zones. Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the U.S. are scheduled to meet in Washington this week to discuss the "gradual" implementation of the agreement, described by a U.S. official as the "only viable mechanism for restoring Lebanon's sovereignty and Israel's security."
