International donors pledge nearly $300M in Beirut relief
The virtual conference on Sunday was co-hosted by France and the United Nations.
The nearly $300 million in humanitarian assistance raised for Beirut at a virtual conference of international donors on Sunday will be “directly delivered to the Lebanese population,” the office of French President Emmanuel Macron said.
The millions in emergency aid will be distributed “with utmost efficiency and transparency,” according to Macron, who co-hosted the hastily arranged pledge drive with the United Nations.
“Lebanon's future is being decided now, by Lebanon itself, and with its international partners at its side,” Macron tweeted on Sunday, adding, “Our offer of help includes supporting a credible and independent impartial investigation of the explosion.”
Thousands of protesters have filled the streets in recent days demanding an independent probe into last Tuesday’s explosion as well as the entire overhaul of the Lebanese government. On Monday, Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab announced that he and his cabinet were resigning, saying the blast resulted from "endemic corruption."
