EU commissioner Lahbib visits Lebanon to oversee aid distribution

8 May 2026

More than half of the Lebanese population is dependent on humanitarian aid, European commissioner for Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib said during a visit to the Lebanese capital Beirut on Friday. Lahbib met with president Joseph Aoun and announced that a seventh EU humanitarian flight carrying aid supplies would land in Lebanon on Saturday.

Since the start of the conflict between Israel and the militant Shia movement Hezbollah in early March, the EU has allocated 100 million euros in emergency humanitarian aid to Lebanon. Through a dedicated humanitarian air corridor, 250 tonnes of essential supplies have already been delivered. The EU is also coordinating bilateral aid from member states via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.

Lahbib stressed the importance of her presence on the ground. "It is important to go on the ground to meet the humanitarian partners, to see the difficulties they are facing and to assess how we can best help them," she told Belga. "Once again, we are the leading humanitarian actor on the ground: we were the first to respond to their needs and the member states have mobilised effectively."

Belgium provides extra humanitarian funding for Lebanon

During a visit to Beirut on Wednesday, Belgian Foreign minister Maxime Prévot announced the release of additional funding to support Lebanon.

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"Political courage" needed for lasting peace

According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, Israeli attacks have killed nearly 2,700 people and injured 8,200 over the past two months. More than one million people have been displaced. A ceasefire has theoretically been in force since 17 April, but hostilities continue: Israel carried out an air strike on Beirut as recently as Wednesday.

The commissioner described the ceasefire as "a glimmer of hope" but called on all parties to halt hostilities. "Hezbollah must be disarmed and Israel must put an end to its bombardments," she said. "To ensure that the ceasefire leads to peace, political courage is needed to tackle the root causes of the conflict."

Israel and Lebanon are due to begin peace negotiations in Washington next week; Hezbollah opposes the talks.

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