Chinese aid arrives in Beirut

Responding to calls to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Lebanon, nearly 60 metric tons of emergency medical supplies from China arrived in Beirut on Monday, according to the Chinese embassy in the Lebanese capital.

The timely aid came as Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit called for an immediate cease-fire and the scaling up of humanitarian assistance in Lebanon, as part of his priority agenda when meeting Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, the National News Agency reported.

Qian Minjian, Chinese ambassador to Lebanon, said the Israel-Hezbollah conflict has led to tens of thousands of casualties in Lebanon and displaced millions.

"China firmly supports Lebanon in maintaining national sovereignty, security and dignity, and strongly opposes any indiscriminate attacks against civilians," Qian was quoted as saying by Xinhua News Agency. He also expressed hope that the medical aid would help ease Lebanon's strained healthcare system.

Qian and Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad attended the handover ceremony for the aid, which comprised 58 metric tons of urgently needed medical supplies, including anesthetics, disposable tracheal intubation tubes and surgical gowns.

Abiad expressed his gratitude, saying Lebanon highly appreciates China's position in calling for an immediate cease-fire. The donation further demonstrated China's valuable support for Lebanon, he added.

Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon "continue to kill and injure civilians and displace a growing number of families", said the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Lebanon's Health Ministry said on Monday that the death toll since Israel's offensive began had risen to 2,483, with 11,628 injured. Israel's campaign in Lebanon has driven 1.2 million people from their homes.

On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel — the last attempt before a presidential election that could upend US policy.

Diplomatic efforts have so far failed to bring an end both to the yearlong conflict in Gaza and to its spillover conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

During a meeting with Mikati, Aboul Gheit reiterated the Arab League's support for the Lebanese people, state and government while calling for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon.

He also rejected foreign interference in Lebanon's internal affairs and urged an end to the indiscriminate killings as well as a return to the immediate implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which seeks to end hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel.

Aboul Gheit stressed the need for the displaced Lebanese to return to the south without Israeli interference and demanded guarantees from Israel to stop its attacks on the Lebanese people.

Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, in a phone call with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Sunday, condemned the Israeli army's targeting of the Lebanese army, infrastructure and UN peacekeepers. Cairo also rejected any infringement on Lebanon's territorial integrity, Egypt's Ahram Online reported.

On the ground, Hezbollah said it had fired rockets at two bases near the Israeli city of Tel Aviv and one west of Haifa on Tuesday morning.

Lebanon's Health Ministry said the death toll from an Israeli strike on Monday night near Rafik Hariri University Hospital, Beirut's main government medical facility, had climbed to 18.

Rescuers were still searching for survivors beneath the rubble on Tuesday, said an AFP correspondent who heard a cellphone ringing under chunks of concrete.

After a heavy night of Israeli strikes on Lebanon's south and the southern suburbs of its capital, Hezbollah said it had fired rockets at the Glilot base used by Unit 8200 of Israeli military intelligence, and the Nirit area in Tel Aviv's suburbs.

Agencies contributed to this story.