EU pledges 60 million euros in aid for Lebanese Army

The European Union on Tuesday announced a 60 million euro ($62 million) support package for Lebanon's armed forces, as the crisis-hit country seeks to implement a fragile truce between Israel and Hezbollah.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the aid came "at a critical juncture for the implementation of the ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel."

The Lebanese armed forces "are essential to regional and domestic stability, and deserve all our support in performing their critical mission," she said.

Under the ceasefire deal Beirut said Israel must withdraw from the south of the country by January 26, with the Lebanese military then set to deploy alongside U.N. peacekeepers.

At the same time, Hezbollah is required to dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south and pull its forces back north of the Litani River, some 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border.

The EU aid is the latest from the West aimed at bolstering Lebanon's military, with the U.S. last week saying it would donate more than $117 million in security assistance.

During a visit to Beirut on Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron said that Paris would soon host an aid conference to help rebuild Lebanon after the Israel-Hezbollah war.

Lebanon has struggled for years to finance its public institutions including the army following a 2019 economic crisis.

It now also faces the challenge of reconstruction after more than two months of war between Hezbollah and Israel ended in November.