Qatar sends aid to Lebanese army as the country recovers from Hezbollah’s war with Israel

Qatar is sending scores of military vehicles to the Lebanese army and a new, $60 million donation to help it pay salaries to officers as the small Mediterranean country recovers from the fighting in Hezbollah’s latest war with Israel, the two Arab countries announced Wednesday, Report informs via AP.

Gas-rich Qatar has been a main backer of the Lebanese army since an unprecedented economic crisis engulfed the country in late 2019. Qatar was first sending food aid for the military while cash donations began in 2022.

The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah launched its own attacks on Israel a day after the Israel-Hamas war erupted on Oct. 7, 2023 with the Palestinian militants’ attack on southern Israel. Hezbollah saying it was doing so to ease the pressure on Gaza by keeping part of the Israeli military busy along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon.

After 14 months, a US-brokered ceasefire halted the Hezbollah-Israel war, which killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon and caused destruction that will take $11 billion to rebuild, according to the World Bank.

Since the November ceasefire, Lebanon has elected a new president and prime minister, who have both promised to carry out reforms.