This handout picture released on the X account (formerly Twitter) of the Lebanese Army on Jan. 1, 2024 shows Lebanese Army Chief Joseph Aoun (C) meeting with France's Minister of the Armed Forces Sebastien Lecornu (L) at the base of the French contingent of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in Lebanon's southern village of Deir Kifa. (Credit: Lebanese Army Twitter account/AFP)
BEIRUT — France has supplied 15 tons of medical freight to support the Lebanese Army over the past two months, and plans to deepen medical cooperation with structural projects, a source close to French Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Tuesday.
The medicines, including antibiotics and painkillers, were destined for the military hospital in Beirut, where soldiers and civilians are treated, according to the source.
"A joint medical cooperation project between the French and Lebanese armed forces' health services will soon result in the signing of an official document," a member of the minister's entourage told AFP, citing the launch of projects to train military medical staff and boost reception capacities.
Lebanon, hit by a severe economic crisis, fears an extension of the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which broke out nearly three months ago.
The Lebanese army, which plays a crucial role in maintaining stability in the country, is struggling to meet the essential needs of its 80,000 soldiers. In particular, it has received occasional aid from Qatar and the United States to pay their salaries.
In southern Lebanon, exchanges of fire between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah, which claims to be acting in support of Hamas, have been an almost daily occurrence since the start of the war on Oct. 7.
On that day, Hamas carried out an unprecedented attack on Israeli soil, killing around 1,140 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official figures.
Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip, carried out in retaliation for the attack, have claimed more than 22,000 lives, most of them women, teenagers and children, according to Gaza's Ministry of Health.
The Lebanese army, which plays a crucial role in maintaining stability in the country, is struggling to meet the essential needs of its 80,000 soldiers. In particular, it has received occasional aid from Qatar and the United States to pay their salaries.
In southern Lebanon, exchanges of fire between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah, which claims to be acting in support of Hamas, have been an almost daily occurrence since the start of the war on Oct. 7.
On that day, Hamas carried out an unprecedented attack on Israeli soil, killing around 1,140 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official figures.
Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip, carried out in retaliation for the attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement, have claimed more than 22,000 lives, most of them women, teenagers and children, according to Gaza's Ministry of Health.