Beirut: The World Bank has estimated that Lebanon will need $11 billion for economic recovery and reconstruction following the conflict with Israel, as detailed in a report by the Lebanon Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA) 2025.
According to Anadolu Agency, the report specifies that $3 to $5 billion of the total required amount will need to come from public funding, with $1 billion earmarked for infrastructure sectors such as electricity, public and municipal services, transportation, and water, wastewater, and irrigation systems. Private funding is expected to cover the remaining $6 to $8 billion, primarily focusing on the housing, business, manufacturing, and tourism sectors.
The report supports these needs estimates with an assessment of the economic cost of the conflict to Lebanon, which totals $14 billion. This includes $6.8 billion in physical structural damage and $7.2 billion in economic losses from lost revenue, decreased productivity, and operational expenses. It highlights that housing is the hardest hit sector, suffering damages estimated at $4.6 billion.
Additionally, the commerce, industrial, and tourist sectors have sustained significant damage, with losses totaling $3.4 billion nationwide. The conflict has also impacted Lebanon’s gross domestic product (GDP), which fell by 7.1% in 2024, reversing a 0.9% growth recorded before the conflict began.
By the end of 2024, Lebanon’s cumulative GDP decline since 2019 approached 40%, exacerbating the effects of the ongoing economic downturn and challenging Lebanon’s future economic growth prospects. Following months of cross-border fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, which escalated into a full-scale battle in September, a fragile truce has been in place in Lebanon since November 27.
Lebanese authorities have documented nearly 1,100 Israeli violations of the ceasefire deal, resulting in at least 84 fatalities and over 280 injuries.