US announces $157M in humanitarian aid to Lebanon

ISTANBUL

The US is extending $157 million in humanitarian aid to embattled Lebanon, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, making the announcement as the country continues to be pounded daily by Israel's military, from south of Lebanon's border, killing thousands and sending tens of thousands fleeing their homes.

This funding will address "new and existing needs of internally displaced persons and refugee populations inside Lebanon and the communities that host them," Blinken said in a statement on Friday.

The aid "will also support those fleeing to neighboring Syria," he added.

The assistance also includes nearly $82 million from the State Department Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, and $75 million from the US Agency for International Development's (USAID) Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, he said.

Blinken added that of this total amount, USAID has already allocated $11.5 million and, in collaboration 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 in need."

Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of Israel's war on Gaza, which has killed over 41,800 people, most of them women and children, following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last October.

At least 2,011 people have since been killed, over 9,500 injured, and 1.2 million others displaced, according to Lebanese authorities.

The international community has warned that Israeli attacks in Lebanon could escalate the Gaza conflict into a wider regional war.