TEHRAN –The Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS), and the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in Lebanon have discussed ways to continue providing assistance to war-affected people in Lebanon.

The secretary general of the IRCS, Meysam Afshar, and, the IRCS director for international affairs, Razieh Alishvandi, in a meeting with Cristhian Cortez Cardoza, the IFRC deputy director for emergency response and operations in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in Beirut highlighted the need for a ceasefire in Gaza, IRNA reported.

With the ceasefire now in place, the officials discussed ways to speed up providing aid to the war victims and focused on assessing how they can further support the humanitarian efforts in these critical times.

They also discussed opportunities for enhanced collaboration to address urgent needs and provide relief to affected communities.

Lauding the IRCS humanitarian efforts in assisting Lebanese, Cortez asked for boosting cooperation in this regard.

Setting up health centers, providing medical care, as well as making preparations for winter are among the main issues, he noted.

Afshar, for his part, said the IRCS is dedicated to supporting people affected by war or any other disasters worldwide to alleviate their suffering. He went on to say that, “having assessed the needs of war-affected people, the IRCS will do its best to meet their needs.”

Alishvandi, for her turn, said the IRCS is ready to dispatch two more humanitarian consignments including essential goods like sanitary and medical items to Lebanon. The official asked the IFRC to further facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid.

“Iranian Red Crescent is willing to share its experiences and strengthen cooperation with other societies through establishing an international training center,” Alishvandi added.

Since the beginning of Israeli attacks on Lebanon, the IRCS has dispatched 10 consignments of relief items to people affected by Israeli attacks in Palestine and Lebanon.

Lebanese health authorities said Thursday that nearly 4,000 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Lebanon since last year.

After two full months of uninterrupted Israeli attacks on civilians and Hezbollah forces, a ceasefire came into effect in Lebanon.

The Health Ministry said that 78 people were killed in Israeli attacks on Tuesday, a day before the cease-fire took effect, bringing the overall death toll since last October to 3,961 people.

The ministry added that 266 people were also injured, pushing up the number of injuries to 16,520.

MT/MG