Roundup: Lebanon receives donations from China, Britain, Syria amid escalating Israel-Hezbollah conflict

BEIRUT, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) — The Lebanese government received on Friday donations and supplies from China, Britain, and Syria, as the country is witnessing deteriorating humanitarian conditions amid intense cross-border conflicts between Israel and Hezbollah.
In a press conference, Social Affairs Minister Hector Hajjar announced that Lebanon has received 1 million U.S. dollars from China to help displaced families in southern Lebanon.
“At this moment, I tell the southerners from the seven governorates that 10,000 families will receive 100 dollars from the Chinese donation,” Hajjar said, noting that medical aid from China, among other initiatives, is also underway.
For his part, Chinese Ambassador to Lebanon Qian Minjian said, “We have been supporting Lebanon for a long time, and we are keen to support it at this time particularly.”
The ambassador voiced China’s opposition to “any action that violates Lebanon’s sovereignty and its security,” and condemned the indiscriminate attacks against civilians.
The Syrian Health Ministry dispatched a shipment of medical supplies to Lebanon “in response to the humanitarian situation resulting from the ongoing aggression by Israel,” the ministry announced Friday.
The aid package, weighing a total of 20 tons, includes around 42 types of medicines and medical consumables, said Mohammad Shamaa, director of supply at the ministry.
Britain has provided 5 million British pounds (around 6.7 million U.S. dollars) to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to support humanitarian response efforts in Lebanon amid the current conflict with Israel, said a statement by the British embassy in Lebanon on Thursday.
According to UNICEF, the average number of children killed per day in Lebanon this week is more than double the number of children killed per day during the country’s 2006 conflict.
“Now, 50 children were killed in two days, on Monday and Tuesday of this week, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health. The ministry also expects that more children remain buried under the rubble of destroyed buildings across the country,” a statement by the UN body said.
“More funds are urgently needed to support the children of Lebanon during this dramatic escalation,” said Edouard Beigbeder, UNICEF representative in Lebanon, calling for an immediate de-escalation.
Confrontations between Hezbollah and Israel have escalated recently after the latter announced the expansion of the objectives of its offensive against Hamas to Lebanon to allow the return of settlers to northern Israel. At the same time, Hezbollah announced its entry into a new phase in which the party continues the battle to support Gaza.
As of Thursday, the escalation over the past days has resulted in around 670 people killed and over 1,800 injured in Lebanon, forcing thousands of people to leave their houses in southern villages and towns to safer shelters. ■