Israel’s Lebanon aid offer unlikely to find takers

Beirut, Aug. 8: Thousands of Lebanese prepared on Saturday for a major protest against a political leadership they blame for a monster explosion that killed more than 150 people and disfigured the capital Beirut.

Two days after a landmark visit by French President Emmanuel Macron, diplomatic activity intensified in Beirut to organise international support for the disaster-hit country ahead of a Sunday aid conference.

For the fourth day running, Beirut woke up to the sound of broken glass being swept on the streets, its inhabitants still taking stock after one of the biggest blasts of its kind in recent history.

A fire at Beirut port on Tuesday ignited a stock of ammonium nitrate and triggered an explosion that was felt in neighbouring countries and destroyed entire neighbourhoods of the city.

Spectacular videos of the disaster show a mushroom-shaped shockwave that drew comparisons with the 1945 atomic bombs on Japan while foreign rescue teams compared the devastation with earthquake scenes.

Saturday could be the last day anybody buried under rubble has any chance of being found alive and according to the health ministry, more than

60 people are still missing. The Netherlands announced on Saturday that its ambassador’s wife was among the 154 people confirmed to have died in the tragedy. Solidarity for the victims of the blast, from inside and outside Lebanon, has been impressive but this disaster was man-made and residents want heads to roll.

The president and prime minister of Lebanon have promised that a government investigation would net the culprits but, more than a mere case of negligence, many Lebanese see the blast as a direct result of their leaders' corruption.

“After three days of cleaning, removing rubble and licking our wounds... it is time to let our anger explode and punish them,” said Fares Halabi, a 28-yearold activist who planned to join a protest on Saturday afternoon.

Jerusalem, Aug. 8: For some it’s a gesture of goodwill, to others sheer hypocrisy: Israel’s offer of humanitarian aid to Lebanon after the massive Beirut blast is unlikely to be taken up.

The two neighbours are still technically at war, have no diplomatic ties and mutual suspicion, even animosity, defines their relations.

As Beirut reeled Tuesday after the monster blast at the port ripped across the city, many eyes were on Israel.

The military initially offered a traditional “no comment” to queries about the possible source of the explosion, until later a government source added: “Israel has nothing to do with this incident”.

Hours later the government offered humanitarian aid to Lebanon.

“Israel has turned to Lebanon through international security and political contacts to offer humanitarian and medical aid to the Lebanese government,” a statement said.

As Beirut hospitals became overwhelmed by the influx of thousands of injured, Lebanon's government did not comment. Aid has been streaming in from elsewhere, including from former power France and Iran, an ally of Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah movement and key Israeli rival.

Israel and Hezbollah last fought a 33-day war in the summer of 2006 that devastated parts of Lebanese capital killed hundreds.

Government and diplomatic sources in Jerusalem say Israel has tried unsuccessfully since Tuesday to send medical equipment to Lebanon via the United Nations, which monitors a buffer zone between the two countries.

Israel even sought to dispatch medical personnel to Cyprus, where Beirut victims could be treated, according to the sources.

“It is a very human gesture,” Amos Yadlin, former head of Israeli military intelligence, told reporters. “It is a gesture that can bring the two nations together.”

Yadlin blamed Hezbollah's backers in Tehran for the continuing air of hostility between Israel and Lebanon, insisting there was “no real dispute” between the neighbours. — the and