Hezbollah has promised housing assistance to Lebanese families displaced by the war whose homes were destroyed or made uninhabitable, putting its relief role in focus as the government seeks control of the group’s weapons and reconstruction.
Hezbollah Executive Council Chairman Ali Damoush outlined the plan Oct. 13. Households in Beirut and its southern suburbs could receive up to $14,000; the ceiling elsewhere is $12,000. At either ceiling, $8,000 is allocated to furniture, leaving $6,000 for rent near Beirut or $4,000 elsewhere. Damoush said payments would come in four installments over a year. He gave no total budget or count of eligible households.
As of Sept. 29, the International Organization for Migration counted more than 300,000 people displaced within Lebanon. That figure does not indicate how many households would qualify for Hezbollah’s plan.
Lebanon’s Cabinet decided in March to prohibit Hezbollah’s military activities and require it to surrender its weapons to the state. A framework signed June 26 by Lebanon, Israel and the United States laid out a process for Lebanese state control and an Israeli withdrawal. The Associated Press reported that implementation has stalled.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in an Oct. 15 call that security forces were confiscating weapons and ammunition and combating smuggling, the Lebanese presidency said. Aoun also asked Rubio to press Israel to stop attacks in southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah has not disclosed how it would finance the housing plan. Reuters reported, citing two people with direct knowledge, that Iran transferred $200 million to the group in September. U.S. State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott disputed the report, and Damoush declined to comment on it. Hezbollah has not linked the reported transfer to the promised payments.
The Critical Threats Project and the Institute for the Study of War assess that providing aid could help Hezbollah regain support and compete with government reconstruction efforts. Damoush said the group would establish centers where families could have their cases reviewed.
