LEBANON: European Commission commited to transfer 10 million Euro in aid to Lebanon, as aid from Jordan continues to arrive.

The European Commission committed to transfer 10 million Euro in aid to Lebanon on Wednesday (July 26). Plans are for an overall package of 50 million Euro worth of aid and supplies. The decision came after growing evidence of a large-scale humanitarian crisis and followed the announcement of an initial emergency decision for 10 million Euro last week. United Nations agencies will be among the main operational partners to be financed under the new decision, following on from the UN appeal issued yesterday for relief funds for Lebanon. The funds, managed by the Commission's Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO), will target the most needy, notably the growing numbers of internally displaced people who have been forced to flee from their homes. In addition to the 20 million Euro already committed for relief activities in Lebanon, the Commission is proposing the allocation of further humanitarian support, drawing on the emergency reserve of the EC budget upon approval of the European Parliament and Council of Ministers. "Our aid is distributed through our partners; agencies of the United Nations and agents of the Red Cross in addition to many other NGO's. The advantage we have is that these NGO's have been here in Lebanon for many years before. Some of them work in Palestinian refugee camps and have good knowledge of Lebanese reality. Therefore they can respond the most efficiently to the needs of the population," said Jean Claude Heyraud, head of the European Commission in the Middle East Unit. Three Jordanian military planes landed at Beirut's international airport to evacuate those seriously wounded. Airport officials said the aircraft were the first to land at Beirut's airport since July 13 when Israeli warplanes bombed its runways and forced it to close. Subsequent strikes on the facility damaged fuel tanks and other installations. A UN convoy, carrying 90 tonnes of supplies, arrived in Tyre. A UN official said the United Nations planned to send another aid convoy to Tyre from Beirut on Thursday, two on Friday and more on Saturday, with the hope of establishing the humanitarian corridor as a "regular process". More than 400 people, mostly civilians have been killed in Lebanon since the war began after Hizbollah guerrillas captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid. Lebanese civilians fleeing the south of Lebanon have been hit by Israeli shells, as have medical aid workers and U.N. military observers, making aid trips to isolated villages especially hazardous. UNICEF has established shelters for the displaced in Beirut. Lebanon says more than 500,000 people have been displaced by the fighting and 150,000 more have left for neighbouring Syria.

ITN Source | July 28, 2006

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