The World Bank, in cooperation with Lebanon’s National Council for Scientific Research, is preparing a new report to assess the damage caused by the ongoing war with Israel and estimate reconstruction costs, Finance Minister Yassine Jaber told L’Orient Today.

According to Jaber, the destruction recorded during the first four weeks of the 2026 war was initially estimated at around $1.5 billion. That figure has risen considerably since, particularly after the intensified bombardment in April, which he said destroyed bridges, villages and buildings around Beirut. A second assessment is expected by the end of April.

Jaber said the assessment will rely on satellite imaging rather than field surveys, allowing for faster and broader estimates of destruction. An AI program will be used “to process images and convert them into costs,” he added.

While no final figure has been set, Jaber said direct losses are already in the billions, “no less than $3 billion to $4 billion,” he noted. “These are enormous direct losses,” he said, adding that the figure comes on top of damage from the 2024 war, which he estimated at around $7 billion.

A World Bank report published in March 2025 had estimated the economic cost of the conflict that affected Lebanon at $14 billion, including $6.8 billion in physical damage and $7.2 billion in economic losses from reduced productivity, foregone revenues and higher operating costs. Reconstruction and recovery needs from that conflict were estimated at $11 billion.

Beyond physical destruction, Jaber said the indirect economic losses are also mounting.

“The indirect costs are, first of all, in state revenue,” he said, noting that government revenue in March fell by around 35 to 40 %. He added that remittances from Lebanese abroad also declined by "more than 5 %” that month.

Jaber said the war is also expected to weigh heavily on economic growth, with GDP potentially contracting by as much as 12 to 14 %, according to economists he met in Washington. In 2024, GDP had contracted by around 7.1 %, according to World Bank figures published in June 2025.

With international aid significantly reduced, Jaber said the government has had to rely on its own resources, including drawing on reserves and reallocating parts of existing loans to cover humanitarian needs.

On April 16, the Minister of Social Development, Haneen Sayed, told Asharq News that only 30 % of Lebanon’s emergency needs had been covered so far. During the previous war in 2024, Lebanon received around $700 million in aid, compared with less than $100 million that has so far reached the country through the United Nations’ 2026 Flash Appeal.

“The difference this time is that Lebanon was not the only one affected — the region is also being affected,” Jaber spoke of looming potential salary cuts and layoffs in Gulf countries where many Lebanese work, including the UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. That, he said, could further reduce remittance inflows over the coming months.