The Emergency Situations Ministry said an Il-76 left for Cyprus 10:00 a.m. Moscow time (6 a.m. GMT), where the cargo will be handed over to UN World Food Program officials who will ensure its further delivery to the Middle Eastern state by sea.
"The plane will deliver 47 30-bed tents, 2,300 blankets, 1,000 mattresses, and the same number of pillows for Lebanese people who have suffered during the conflict with Israel," a Russian a ministry spokesman said.
UN aid workers have used sea routes to deliver aid to southern Lebanon for security reasons and because most roads and bridges have been destroyed by Israeli aviation in four weeks of fighting with the Lebanon-based Hizbollah radical movement.
The military operations have claimed the lives of almost 1,000 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and forced about a quarter of the country's population to flee their homes. About 100 Israelis, most of them soldiers, have also lost their lives in the fighting.
