On Tuesday, Israel made a formal offer to provide humanitarian aid to Lebanon. The offer came through the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) at the southern Lebanese border as the nations do not have diplomatic relations.
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz announced on Twitter that this offer was “in light of the difficult economic situation in Lebanon, and in light of Hezbollah‘s attempts to bring Iranian investments into Lebanon.”
Gantz added that Israel‘s assistance would help Lebanon “flourish and emerge from its state of crisis”.
This offer was made days ahead of what caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab warned was an impending “social explosion.”
Israel‘s offer is a jab at Lebanon’s government and political leaders who continue to fail at making any effort to pull Lebanon out of the crises they brought upon the Lebanese people.
It has been almost a year since the Beirut explosion which further deteriorated the conditions and livelihoods of millions of Lebanese.
Shortly after the explosion, Israel offered to send humanitarian and medical assistance to Lebanon. Hours after the publication of that story, The961 experienced one of the most aggressive cyber-attacks since its launch. The attack took down the website for roughly 7 hours all through the morning of August 5th, 2020 following the Beirut Blast – affecting our crucial coverage of the explosion.