The destruction had been so devastating that it had effectively wiped out the past 15 years of rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts, UNDP spokesman Jean Fabre told reporters.

He added that all the progress Lebanon had made toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals had been wiped out and the country now had to start from zero again.

According to the spokesman, the overall economic losses of Lebanon in the past month were in the neighborhood of 15 billion U.S. dollars, at the very least.

He said UNDP had outlined six quick impact projects to address recovery and reconstruction, which the Lebanese government had approved, at an estimated cost of 46.3 million U.S. dollars, and UNDP had already disbursed 3.1 million U.S. dollars of its own funds to jump-start the projects without waiting for donors.

Responding to questions, Fabre said that the situation in Lebanon was very grave, as there had been much destruction.

He added that it was impossible now for Lebanon to repay its debt, which was already very big before last month's conflict.