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Lebanon needs political stability and dialogue before it can begin rebuilding from the $10 billion in damage and destruction caused by Israel’s war on Hezbollah, Environment Minister and head of the government emergency committee Nasser Yassin told The National in an interview.
Last week, US President Joe Biden announced a ceasefire deal between Israel and Lebanon, bringing an end to the conflict with Hezbollah, which claimed more than 4,000 Lebanese lives and destroyed entire villages.
However, hundreds of thousands of Lebanese are displaced after their homes were left in ruins, while the country, already grappling with a years-long economic crisis, faces further challenges as sectors such as healthcare have suffered severe blows, limiting their ability to adequately respond to the emergency.
“We need to have more stability in the country, we need to have more dialogue between the different entities in Lebanon before we actually move to start the reconstruction,” said Mr Yassin, who was speaking on the sidelines of the annual Doha Forum conference in the Qatari capital.
“We have to elect, hopefully early next year, a new [president] and government. All of these are needed for reforms to be enacted. If reforms are enacted, then we can actually move towards the whole. It’s a long journey of reconstruction and rehabilitation and reform that we need to do, but this needs to start.”
Lebanon has been without a president since October 2022. The US, France, and other countries have been calling for the election of a head of state to avoid a power vacuum and help to stabilise the country's political life. US envoy Amos Hochstein, who mediated the ceasefire talks between Hezbollah and Israel, said that the election of the president is vital for Lebanon.
The country's deeply divided parliament, where no faction holds a majority, has repeatedly failed to agree on a successor to Michel Aoun. Last week, the state news agency announced that a session would be held on January 9, marking the first presidential election attempt since June last year, when votes were largely split between Jihad Azour and Suleiman Frangieh, neither of whom drew enough support to win.
Lebanese official sources in Beirut told The National earlier that the country “must” elect a president during the first 60-day truce with Israel as part of the ceasefire deal that ended the war with Hezbollah.
Assessing the damages
The war that started on October 8 last year, a day after Hamas launched unprecedented attacks in Israel, escalated in September with Israel intensifying its military campaign against Hezbollah. These actions included air strikes and a ground invasion aimed at degrading its capabilities, which had been significantly bolstered in recent years. Israel's war killed thousands of civilians.
Mr Yassin, whose team led the government emergency plan during the all-out war, said it was not clear yet the time frame to rebuild and that the financial cost is now at about $10 billion but it could be more.
“We know that's in the range of $10 billion, but we're still assessing the damages now so this will take us more [time] to understand,” he said, adding that the government is dedicating funds for basic emergency services.
“This will definitely need and require aid to flow from friends of Lebanon. We cannot have it. I mean, this is almost half of the GDP in Lebanon.”
Several Lebanese political sources said the aid, especially from the Gulf countries, could be preconditioned on a stable political life and a bigger security role for the army inside the country and at the border areas.
Lebanon is also facing the threat of Israel breaking the ceasefire, with several Lebanese killed by Israeli fire during the past week, before an overseeing committee that has representatives from the US, France, Lebanon, Israel, and the UN started its work in the last two days.
“Things are moving. We really want to push to get this mechanism to work and to have the Lebanese army being deployed all over the south,” said the minister.
Syria's war
During the height of the war, the emergency committee worked with international agencies and civil society to maintain the system and help more than one million displaced people find shelter, according to Mr Yassin. This was also supported by the quick aid that kept flowing from countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and others.
“They really helped us fill the huge gap because they were coming quickly by planes.”
One day after the ceasefire in Lebanon was reached, the civil war in neighbouring Syria was reignited with a lightning offensive launched by rebel forces to take major cities out of the hands of the army, pushing thousands of people to flee, with many heading to Lebanon and more expected.
“This will be tough for Lebanon if we are going to be open again to an influx of Syrian refugees. Lebanon already is hosting a million plus, maybe around 400,000 or 500,000 left,” said Mr Yassin.
“So, if you expect people coming back for an already displaced Lebanese community – keep in mind 100,000 houses are destroyed or damaged, at least half a million Lebanese need shelter and support – it will add more with the weaknesses that we have at the moment in the health system and the social system and the infrastructure and every other system.
“We’re going to face a lot, a lot of challenges, and we really cannot do it. Lebanon cannot take this responsibility again on its shoulders.”
How to get there
Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
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If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
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6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
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8. Pillar 2 implementation
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10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Company%20profile
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The biog
Year of birth: 1988
Place of birth: Baghdad
Education: PhD student and co-researcher at Greifswald University, Germany
Hobbies: Ping Pong, swimming, reading
The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5
Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
The Sky Is Pink
Director: Shonali Bose
Cast: Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Farhan Akhtar, Zaira Wasim, Rohit Saraf
Three stars
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
NATIONAL%20SELECTIONS
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Who has been sanctioned?
Daniella Weiss and Nachala
Described as 'the grandmother of the settler movement', she has encouraged the expansion of settlements for decades. The 79 year old leads radical settler movement Nachala, whose aim is for Israel to annex Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where it helps settlers built outposts.
Harel Libi & Libi Construction and Infrastructure
Libi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.
Zohar Sabah
Runs a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.
Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm
These are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder turbo
Transmission: CVT
Power: 170bhp
Torque: 220Nm
Price: Dh98,900
