Paris aid conference raises $800m for Lebanon

A Paris conference on Thursday on aid for conflict-stricken Lebanon raised around $800 million for humanitarian aid but saw little diplomatic progress as fighting continues between Israel and Hezbollah.

"In total, we have jointly gathered $800 million in humanitarian aid," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told participants as the conference closed.

He added that there was a further "$200 million for the security forces" bringing the total to "almost a billion, even more than a billion... with the latest contributions".

The total far outstrips both France's target of 500 million euros and the 400 million originally requested by the UN for Lebanon, where Barrot said over 2,500 people had been killed and "almost one million" displaced in fighting since late September.

Israel launched a ground offensive in southern Lebanon after a year of exchanging fire over the border with Hezbollah after the war on Gaza began last October.

But while there were repeated calls for a ceasefire, diplomatic progress in Paris was limited by the absence of key players Israel and Iran, while America was represented only by a deputy to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

"We have risen to the occasion" with financial support, Barrot told participants, with major pledges including 100 million euros ($108 million) from France, 95 million from Germany and at least 15 million pounds ($20 million) from Britain.

Nevertheless, "we cannot limit ourselves to a humanitarian and security response... we have to bring about a diplomatic solution," he added.

Back to 2006?

France, which has historic ties to Lebanon and hosts a large Lebanese diaspora, is pushing alongside the US for a 21-day ceasefire to give space to find a more lasting truce.

Paris wants a a return to UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which sealed the end of the last Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006.

"The war must end as soon as possible, there must be a ceasefire in Lebanon," President Emmanuel Macron said sitting alongside the country's Prime Minister Najib Mikati.

The Lebanese government chief in turn called on "the international community to hold together and support efforts... to implement an immediate ceasefire".

As well as stipulating that the only armed forces on Lebanon's border with Israel should be UN peacekeepers and the Lebanese army, 1701 says no foreign forces should enter Lebanon without the government's consent.

That was why participants pledged support for Lebanese troops, with Macron saying Paris would "contribute to equipping the Lebanese army".

Speaking remotely, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also called on participants to "strengthen their support to (Lebanon's) state institutions, including the Lebanese armed forces".

A ceasefire can only be agreed with involvement from Israel and Hezbollah's backer Iran, neither of whom were invited Thursday.

Hezbollah must "stop its provocations... and indiscriminate strikes" against Israel, Macron said.

Although Israel has eliminated Hezbollah leaders over recent weeks, it "knows from experience that its military successes do not necessarily represent victory in Lebanon," Macron said.

'Accountability'

"Anything that does not bring about an immediate end to the destruction and killing would make this summit a failure," Bachir Ayoub, aid group Oxfam's Lebanon chief, said before the conference ended.

Oxfam was among over 150 aid groups to denounce on Thursday "flagrant disregard for international law by the international community" over Israel's military actions in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon.

"Without accountability, there will be no red lines," they added.

UN Development Program chief Achim Steiner warned that Lebanon's economy was "beginning to collapse under the pressure of this conflict," predicting a contraction of more than nine percent this year if the war continues.

That could hamper efforts to build up Lebanon's institutions and especially its armed forces, "to preserve the country's unity, stability and sovereignty" as France's Barrot hoped.

"Resolution 1701... remains the cornerstone of stability and security in southern Lebanon," Mikati said, echoing France's view.

Conference participants may offer training, equipment and funding to keep the Lebanese army functioning and allow new recruitment so it is strong enough to do its job.