PARIS: The devastating Beirut blast caused up to $8.1 billion in damage and economic loss, and Lebanon needs hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to recover, the World Bank said Monday.
The double explosion on Aug. 4 shattered a vast section of the city’s port and surrounding areas, killing scores of people and plunging the country into further economic turmoil.
The cost of material damage from the blasts ranges from $3.8 billion to $4.6 billion, while economic damage amounts to $2.9 billion to $3.5 billion according to a bank estimate.
Lebanon now needs from $605 million to $760 million in urgent financial aid to bounce back from the disaster, the World Bank said in a “Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment” carried out with the United Nations and European Union.
The economic sectors most affected were housing, transport and cultural heritage, including religious and archaeological sites, national monuments, theaters, archives and libraries, the study found.
According to the World Bank, beyond the immediate need for hundreds of millions of dollars in aid, Lebanon will have to come up with an additional $1.18 billion to $1.46 billion in 2021.
Priorities for government spending would be transport, cultural needs and housing, the assessment said.
On a macro-economic level, the bank noted that the impact of the blast will be felt through “losses in economic activity caused by the destruction of physical capital” followed by “trade disruptions resulting in higher transaction costs of external trade, and the loss of fiscal revenues.”
It forecast that Lebanon’s gross domestic product would decline by an additional 0.4 percentage point this year and by an additional 0.6 percentage point in 2021.
The country was already facing a grave economic crisis that has been aggravated the coronavirus pandemic, and the World Bank had estimated earlier that its economy would contract by 10.9 percent this year.
In addition to causing a deeper recession, the blasts would increase poverty, which the bank said already affected 45 percent of the population.
Given Lebanon’s dire financial straits and lack of foreign exchange reserves, Beirut will rely on international aid and private investment to recover, the assessment said.
To obtain sufficient funds, officials will have to enact a credible program of reforms to guard against corruption, and focus on “breaking the hold of elite capture, which has monopolized both private and public resources.”
Lebanon blast could cost more than $8bn: World Bank
https://arab.news/8bgty
Lebanon blast could cost more than $8bn: World Bank
- Cost of material damage ranges from $3.8 billion to $4.6 billion
- Economic sectors most affected were housing, transport and cultural heritage
Spain highlights importance of Gaza reconstruction
- Spain officially recognized Palestine as a state in May 2024, in a coordinated move alongside Ireland and Norway
RAMALLAH: The Palestinian prime minister, Mohammed Mustafa, and the Spanish foreign minister, Jose Manuel Albares, on Friday discussed the latest developments in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
During their telephone conversation they emphasized the need to intensify international efforts to end the Israeli occupation and halt attacks and settler violence, and to secure the release of Palestinian funds held by Israeli authorities.
They affirmed the importance of ongoing efforts relating to plans for the reconstruction of Gaza, and Europe’s significant role in this process. Mustafa and Albares highlighted the need to unify Palestinian institutions in Gaza with those in the West Bank, with the aim of establishing a Palestinian state in line with international resolutions, including last year’s New York Declaration.
They also discussed coordination between their countries, and the strengthening of Spain’s political, diplomatic and financial support for Palestine, and Mustafa thanked Spain for its ongoing support.
Spain officially recognized Palestine as a state in May 2024, in a coordinated move alongside Ireland and Norway. Estephan Salameh, the Palestinian finance and planning minister, is set to visit Spain this month to discuss enhanced cooperation, particularly in the areas of development and reconstruction. Meanwhile, Israel continues operating in the occupied West Bank.
The Palestinian Prisoners media office said on Friday that Israel carried out numerous raids across the territory, including the major cities of Ramallah and Hebron, according to The Associated Press.
Nearly 50 people were detained, following the arrest of at least 50 other Palestinians on Thursday, most of those in the Ramallah area.
As 2026 begins, the shaky 12-week-old ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has largely ended large-scale Israeli bombardment of Gaza.
But Palestinians are still being killed by Israeli fire, especially along the so-called Yellow Line that delineates areas under Israeli control, and the humanitarian crisis is compounded by frequent winter rains and colder temperatures.
On Friday, American actor and film producer Angelina Jolie visited the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.
The only crossing between the territory and a country other than Israel, it remains closed despite Palestinian requests to reopen it to people and aid.
Jolie met with members of the Red Crescent on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing and then visited a hospital in the nearby city of Arish to speak with Palestinian patients on Friday, according to Egyptian officials.
Aid groups say not enough shelter materials are getting into Gaza during the truce.
