GCC states, World Bank say ready to support Lebanon after blast

The World Bank announced on Wednesday it will help mobilise public and private financing for reconstruction and recovery after the devastating Beirut port explosion, according to Reuters.

The World Bank said in a statement that it “would be also willing to reprogram existing resources and explore additional financing to support rebuilding lives and livelihoods of people impacted by this disaster,” the report added.

At least 135 people were killed and 5,000 were injured in Tuesday’s explosion at Beirut port, which also left up to 250,000 without homes fit to live in after shockwaves smashed building facades. President Michel Aoun was quoted saying that 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, used in fertilisers and bombs, had been stored for six years at the port without safety measures after it was seized from a ship.

Additionally, the IMF and Lebanon are in the middle of negotiations over a bailout package aimed at averting an unravelling financial crisis. It is unclear if the crisis will alter the direction of those talks.

Other offers of international support have poured in. The UAE was among the first to respond, with thirty tonnes of medical supplies sent from the International Humanitarian City in Dubai to Lebanon.

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the government, on the orders of King Salman, would provide aid through the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSRelief), the Saudi Press Agency reported on Wednesday.

Kuwait also issued an Emiri decree to send medical assistance to Lebanon with aid arriving on Wednesday, according to news reports. Qatar sent two fully-equipped field hospitals, each designed for 500 beds to assist the victims, which arrived in Lebanon on Wednesday, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.

The United States, Britain, France and other Western nations, also offered help. Germany, the Netherlands and Cyprus offered specialised search and rescue teams.