Political stability and dialogue essential before reconstruction begins, says Lebanese minister

Environment Minister and head of government emergency committee Nasser Yassin says rebuilding could cost $10 billion

UN humanitarian co-ordinator Imran Riza and Lebanese Minister of Environment Nasser Yassin, centre left, tour in Nabatieh in southern Lebanon on December 4. EPA

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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.”

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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.”

A man inspects a destroyed building in the southern Lebanese town of Yater on December 7, 2024. AFP

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.”