Hezbollah Funding Strains Delay Compensation for Lebanon War Victims

BEIRUT-Compensation payments for thousands of Lebanese affected by the latest conflict with Israel have yet to begin, with both the Lebanese government and Hezbollah unable to establish a mechanism to provide financial assistance, leaving residents waiting amid continued damage assessments across the country.

Officials and local sources said surveys of damaged homes and infrastructure are continuing in several parts of southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs. However, neither the state nor Hezbollah has announced when compensation will begin or how payments will be distributed.

According to informed sources, Hezbollah has not yet completed its internal review of the compensation process and has not launched its own comprehensive assessment of war damage. At the same time, Lebanese authorities say the government lacks the financial resources needed to fund a nationwide compensation programme.

Residents in Beirut’s southern suburbs told Asharq Al-Awsat that no compensation has yet been paid by Hezbollah to people whose homes were damaged or destroyed during the conflict.

The sources said the group’s internal bodies continue to review and verify claims, but no final decision has been taken to begin disbursing funds.

Many residents say they have received neither compensation nor temporary housing assistance despite suffering significant property damage.

One resident, speaking on condition of anonymity, said his partially destroyed home in Beirut’s Haret Hreik district had received no financial assistance. He added that another property he owns in Lebanon’s Nabatieh district had also been damaged during the war, but no compensation had been offered.

He said some municipalities had carried out preliminary inspections to document damage in preparation for a future compensation process, but neither the state nor Hezbollah had introduced a formal payment mechanism. Unlike after the 2024 conflict, he said, Hezbollah had not conducted its own damage survey.

The resident added that many people believe the conflict has not fully ended and therefore expect compensation to remain suspended. He said residents have received no official indication of when payments might begin.

Mona Fayad, a psychology professor, told Asharq Al-Awsat that Hezbollah’s inability to compensate affected residents reflected broader financial pressures rather than administrative delays.

She said the group appeared to have been forced to reorganise its financial priorities as regional developments reduced its sources of financial support. According to Fayad, Hezbollah continues to pay salaries and provide limited assistance but has postponed compensation because it requires substantially greater financial resources.

Fayad also said declining Iranian influence in regional theatres, particularly in Syria and Iraq, together with restrictions affecting supply routes and financial networks linked to Hezbollah, had weakened the group’s financial position.

Despite the delays, she said dissatisfaction among Hezbollah’s supporters has remained relatively limited because the Lebanese state is also unable to provide an alternative source of assistance.

Hashem Haidar, head of Lebanon’s Council for the South, said government survey teams began assessing damaged properties immediately after the ceasefire took effect in areas that were considered safe.

He said teams initially focused on homes that had been completely destroyed to facilitate debris removal while inspections continued. However, compensation payments have not begun because the government lacks the necessary funding.

“There has been no compensation at all so far,” Haidar said, adding that affected residents had not received any financial support because of the state’s financial constraints.

He said preliminary estimates of the damage had been prepared, but the full scale of losses could not yet be determined because inspection teams remain unable to enter some areas, particularly locations within the so-called “yellow zone,” where access continues to be restricted.

Until surveys in those areas are completed, authorities say a comprehensive assessment of the destruction and the overall compensation bill will remain incomplete.