Netherlands, Gulf States sending aid to Lebanon

A government minister says the Netherlands is sending a search and rescue team made up of police, firefighters, trauma doctors and nurses to help find survivors and victims of the huge blast in Beirut.

Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Minister Sigrid Kaag told Dutch public broadcaster NPO Radio 1 the 67-strong team is leaving Wednesday evening “and will start work immediately.”

Kaag said one or two people were seriously wounded at the Netherlands’ Embassy and others suffered minor injuries as the diplomatic office suffered damage from the devastating explosion.

Kaag previously served as a United Nations under-secretary general in Lebanon and says she has friends there who are injured or have lost a home.

Gulf Arab states have offered various forms of support for Lebanon, though any sustained financial assistance is complicated by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group’s presence in government and on the ground.

Saudi-funded medical teams were dispatched from north Lebanon to Beirut to care for and to help transport the wounded on Tuesday, while a specialized team from a Saudi-funded medical center provided emergency health care services in the Lebanese capital, according to the state-run Saudi Press Agency.

Kuwait and Qatar dispatched airplanes full of medical cargo. Qatari officials told The Associated Press that cargo from Doha included two large air-conditioned tents, kits for 1,000 beds, generators and diesel tanks, 50 ventilators, emergency medical supplies like first aid kits, gauze and needles, and medicine. A search and rescue team was also being sent to support.

Meanwhile, urgent medical and humanitarian supplies were being sent from the International Humanitarian City in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Turkish authorities say six Turkish citizens are among thousands of people injured in the massive explosion in Beirut that killed at least 100 people.

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu tweeted that one Turkish national was in surgery and the others were lightly injured.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke on the phone with Lebanese President Michel Auon late Tuesday and tweeted his condolences. Erdogan’s communications director, Fahrettin Altun, tweeted: “All our government agencies are ready to help the Lebanese people.” There were no immediate details.

Separately, Greek diplomatic officials say one Greek woman appears to be among the dead and two other Greek women are injured. Authorities say Greece has sent a search and rescue team to Beirut and will send more aid if needed.

Cyprus’ foreign minister says two police helicopters are on their way to the Lebanese capital with 10 emergency response personnel and eight sniffer dogs to help locate survivors in the rubble of buildings destroyed in Tuesday's massive blast.

Cyprus is approximately 120 miles (180 kilometers) away from Beirut, but the explosion was heard and felt by many on the east Mediterranean island nation.

Minister Nikos Christodoulides told The Associated Press that Cyprus will also dispatch additional rescue crews, paramedics, non-perishable food items, aluminum and glass that Lebanese authorities have requested. Cyprus will also send chartered flights to Lebanon to repatriate Cypriot citizens wishing to return home.

Indonesian peacekeepers have been contributing in the evacuation of victims of the explosion in Beirut. The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs says in a statement that the Garuda Contingent, as a member of United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon, is helping in the aftermath.

Of the 1,447 Indonesian citizens registered as living in Lebanon, 1,234 are part of the UNIFIL mission, while 213 others are civilians. One Indonesian national was injured in the explosion.

French President Emmanuel Macron will travel to Lebanon on Thursday to offer support after a massive explosion in Beirut killed at least 100 people and injured more than 4,000.

Macron’s office tells The Associated Press that the French leader will meet with Lebanese political leaders. Lebanon is a former French protectorate and the countries retain close political and economic ties.

France is also sending several tons of aid and emergency workers.

Australia says it will donate 2 million Australian dollars ($1.4 million) in humanitarian support to Lebanon to help Beirut recover from Tuesday's massive explosion.

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne says in a statement the money will go to the World Food Program and the Red Cross to help ensure food, medical care and essential items are provided to those affected.

She says Australia and Lebanon have a strong relationship built on extensive community ties, and more than 230,000 Australians have Lebanese heritage.

An Australian was killed and the Australian Embassy in Lebanon was damaged in the explosion.

The European Union is activating its civil protection system to round up emergency workers and equipment from across the 27-nation bloc to help Beirut after Tuesday's devastating explosion.

The EU commission says the plan is to urgently dispatch over 100 firefighters with vehicles, sniffer dogs and equipment designed to find people trapped in urban areas. The Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Poland and the Netherlands are taking part and others are expected to join.

The EU’s satellite mapping system will help Lebanese authorities to establish the extent of the damage. Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarcic says the EU “shares the shock and sadness" of Beirut residents and stands ready to provide extra help.

Separately, Iraq’s Health Ministry spokesman says Baghdad will send six trucks of urgent medical supplies and an emergency medical team. Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi has offered condolences to Lebanon’s Prime Minister Hassan Diab, according to a statement from his office.

Germany says it is ready to send a team of 47 search-and-rescue experts to Beirut after the enormous explosion in the city's port on Tuesday killed at least 100 people and injured thousands.

Germany also says its embassy was damaged in the blast but diplomats have reactivated an old building and are able to work.

Interior Ministry spokesman Bjoern Gruenewaelder says Germany’s THW technical assistance agency will send a team on Wednesday to assist the embassy. Gruenewaelder says Berlin is waiting for confirmation from Lebanon on the separate search-and-rescue team.

France is sending two planes with aid. French emergency workers include members of a special unit with chemical and other technological expertise trained to intervene in damaged industrial sites. Among their tasks will be to identify specific risks for products stored in the area and other risks resulting from the explosion, national civil security spokesman Michael Bernier says.

The 55 French workers also include disaster response experts, emergency nurses, doctors and firefighters.

The flag is flying at half-staff outside a United Nations-backed tribunal in the Netherlands that is set to announce verdicts this week in the trial of four Hezbollah members charged with involvement in the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.

Special Tribunal for Lebanon spokeswoman Wajed Ramadam says the flag is at half-staff “to honor those who lost their lives, who were wounded and who are still missing as a result of the explosion in Beirut yesterday.”

The tribunal will announce verdicts Friday in the long-running trial in absentia of four defendants charged in the Feb. 14, 2005, truck bombing that killed Hariri and 21 others and injured 226 more people.

International troops serving in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon are among those injured by the massive explosion that hit Beirut's port on Tuesday.

Bangladesh's military says at least 21 Bangladesh Navy members of the multinational force in Beirut were injured. The military’s Inter-Service Public Relations Office says one of the injured is in critical condition and had been admitted to the American University of Beirut Medical Center. Bangladesh Navy members have been working in Lebanon with the U.N. force since 2010 to prevent entry of illegal arms and ammunition.

Separately, Italy’s defense minister, Lorenzo Guerini, says one soldier assigned to Italy’s contingent in Lebanon is injured. Guerini also offers the help of Italian forces serving in the U.N. mission. Italy is the second largest contributor to the U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon after Indonesia, with 1,021 troops deployed.

Pope Francis has offered prayers for the victims, their families, and for Lebanon after the enormous explosion in Beirut’s port on Tuesday. At least 100 people were killed and thousands injured.

The pontiff appealed that ‘’through the dedication of all the social, political and religious elements,’’ Lebanon "might face this extremely tragic and painful moment and, with the help of the international community, overcome the grave crisis they are experiencing.’’

International aid is heading to Beirut, with Poland sending a team of about 50 firefighters, including 39 rescuers with 4 dogs and a chemical rescue module. A Greek military transport plane is heading to Lebanon with a search and rescue team with specialized equipment and a sniffer dog, while Cyprus says it will be sending help.

Russia's emergency officials say the country will send five planeloads of aid to Beirut after an explosion in the Lebanese capital's port killed at least 100 people and injured thousands on Tuesday.

Russia’s Ministry for Emergency Situations will send rescuers, medical workers, a makeshift hospital and a lab for coronavirus testing to Lebanon.

France, Jordan and other countries also say aid is on the way.

International aid in the form of emergency workers and medical personnel is heading to Lebanon a day after a massive explosion devastated Beirut’s port, killing at least 100 people and wounding thousands.

France says it is sending two planes with dozens of emergency workers, a mobile medical unit and 15 tons of aid. French President Emmanuel Macron’s office says the aid should allow for the treatment of some 500 victims.

French peacekeepers stationed in Lebanon, a former French protectorate, have been helping since the explosions, Macron’s office said.

Jordan says a military field hospital including all necessary personnel will be dispatched, according to the Royal Court. Egypt has opened a field hospital in Beirut to receive the wounded.

Czech Interior Minister Jan Hamacek says Lebanon has accepted an offer to send a team of 37 rescuers with sniffer dogs to Beirut. Denmark says it is ready to provide humanitarian assistance to Lebanon, and Greece says it is ready to help Lebanese authorities “with all means at its disposal.”

Prime Minister Hassan Diab, in a short televised speech, has appealed to all countries and friends of Lebanon to extend help to the small nation, saying: “We are witnessing a real catastrophe.” He reiterated his pledge that those responsible for the massive explosion at Beirut’s port will pay the price, without commenting on the cause.

Diab's speech came the morning after the blast killed at least 100 people and wounded thousands.

Smoke was still rising from the port Wednesday morning. Major downtown streets were littered with debris and damaged vehicles, and building facades were blown out.

Lebanese Red Cross official George Kettaneh said at least 100 people were killed and more than 4,000 were wounded, and said the toll could rise further.