Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz offered humanitarian aid to Lebanon due to deteriorating social and economic conditions. This proposal was reportedly communicated to the Lebanese authorities via UNIFIL.

He was touched by the images of starving people in the Lebanese streets during a ceremony held in memory of the fighters of the South Lebanon Army (ASL), a pro-Israel militia that was dissolved. in haste during the Israeli withdrawal of 2000.

Benny Gantz also said he was ready to take action to influence other countries to help Lebanon thrive and emerge from the crisis. He also denounced the extension of Iranian influence in Lebanon via Hezbollah thanks to this economic crisis.

This is not the first time that the Israeli authorities have offered to help Lebanon when the two countries have been at war since 1948 and Beirut accuses Tel Aviv of occupying a number of its territories and claiming part of its exclusive maritime zone where there could be significant oil and gas reserves.

The two countries, however, started negotiations last year under the aegis of the United States and the UN with a view to delimiting the exclusive maritime zones. However, these are said to be suspended for the time being after Beirut broadened its retaliatory demands to those of Israel.

August 5, 2020 the Israeli authorities had offered their help following the explosion of the port of Beirut the day before, aid that had no response from their Lebanese counterparts, when just hours before the explosion, the Israeli prime minister threatened the country with retaliation against Lebanon’s infrastructure. The Tel Aviv city hall was also adorned with the Lebanese flag in solidarity with the victims of this tragedy the next day.

The Israeli authorities could therefore fear that the collapse of Lebanon could lead to deep instability at the level of the blue line, the dividing line between the two countries where there are, in addition to Hezbollah, small Palestinian groups who have already in the past tried to cause renewed violence.

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