JEDDAH, 31 July 2006 — Saudi Arabia will send emergency relief supplies worth in excess of SR21.37 million to the Lebanese people who are reeling under the Israeli military aggression, Dr. Saaed Al-Harithy, chairman of the Popular Committee for the Relief of Lebanon, announced yesterday.
He said Interior Minister Prince Naif, general supervisor of the committee, had already made allocations for the relief supplies, including SR17.62 million for foodstuffs and SR3.75 million for medicines and medical supplies, the Saudi Press Agency said.
Al-Harithy said the supplies would be distributed among the Lebanese victims in association with international organizations such as the World Food Program and UNICEF.
The committee has raised SR109 million and collected donations in kind for the Lebanese people through a telethon ordered by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah. The king himself donated SR10 million to the fundraising campaign while Crown Prince Sultan contributed SR5 million.
Prince Khaled ibn Sultan, assistant minister of defense and aviation for military affairs, donated SR2 million to the relief fund yesterday.
The telethon which began on Wednesday continued until the early hours of Thursday with Saudis and residents coming in large numbers to donate money and goods at collection points all over the Kingdom. Riyadh also announced plans to establish medical facilities in Lebanon to treat victims of the Israeli attacks, especially women and children.
“The committee has begun its relief program for the Lebanese people by sending emergency supplies such as food, medical supplies, water bottles, blankets and sheets and meeting the needs of children in cooperation with Lebanese and international organizations,” SPA quoted Al-Harithy as saying.
Al-Harithy said the committee would continue to collect donations for the Lebanese victims of the Israeli onslaught and urged donors to deposit their money in Account No. 567 at National Commercial Bank. He said the committee would supply foodstuffs worth SR6.37 million among the displaced Lebanese people. “Prince Naif has also allocated SR11.25 million for emergency relief supplies for Lebanon, especially in the south,” he added.
The committee will operate a land bridge to transport the foodstuffs, medicine and medical supplies donated by Saudi companies and people. “We have also deployed field teams in affected areas of Lebanon to distribute the relief supplies,” he explained.
Twenty trucks left Riyadh for Lebanon on Thursday carrying a field hospital to be set up in Beirut. The hospital will be set up in the Museum area in the center of the Lebanese capital and offer facilities ranging from operating rooms to an intensive care unit. A 100-strong team of physicians, nurses and technicians will operate the hospital, which will be run by the Saudi Red Crescent.
King Abdullah announced a massive aid package on Tuesday to help Lebanon cope with the devastating Israeli military campaign, launched on July12, which has killed hundreds and smashed the country’s infrastructure.
The king pledged a $500 million grant for the reconstruction of Lebanon. He also promised to deposit $1 billion in the Central Bank of Lebanon to help stabilize the country’s currency. Saudi individuals and companies have offered to treat 500 Lebanese wounded in the Israeli attacks.
Other Gulf states have launched similar fund-raising campaigns to help the Lebanese people.
Kuwait yesterday decided to deposit $500 million with Lebanon’s central bank in addition to granting Beirut $300 million in reconstruction aid, a Cabinet statement said.
The government “decided to deposit $500 million with Lebanon’s central bank, in addition to Kuwait’s grant of $300 million to (help) rebuild what was destroyed by the Israeli aggression,” said the statement carried by the official KUNA news agency.
