BEIRUT, July 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab warned that Lebanon is a few days away from a “social explosion” and urged friendly countries and international institutions to help the country face its economic woes.
“Lebanon is crossing a very dark tunnel, and the suffering has reached the limits of tragedy,” Diab said during a speech after a meeting with several foreign and Arab ambassadors at the governmental palace.
“The severe crises experienced by the Lebanese at various levels of life, living, social, health and services are pushing the situation in Lebanon towards a major catastrophe,” Diab added.
Diab, whose government resigned following the Aug 4 Beirut port blast, called for the formation of a new government as soon as possible to tackle the country’s deteriorating economic crisis.
The World Bank has said that Lebanon is passing through a prolonged economic depression, which is among the world’s most severe crises since the mid-1800s.
Internal political rivalry and the lack of a government since October have delayed any move to tackle the worsening economic woes that have included depreciation of the local pound by more than 90 per cent since 2019.
Israeli Defence Minister, Benny Gantz has offered to send humanitarian aid to Lebanon through the United Nations Interim Forces in southern Lebanon (UNFIL) in light of the dire economic situation.
Israel and Lebanon are officially at war, and there are recurring tensions along the border between the Israeli army and the Lebanese Iran-backed Hezbollah movement.
