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On January 7, 2025, the pro-Hizbullah Lebanese Al-Akhbar daily published an expansive article that summarizes efforts by Hizbullah to repair the damages in Lebanon’s civilian sector caused by the war between Hizbullah and Israel. According to the article, to date, Hizbullah has been leading the reconstruction efforts while the central government is dragging its feet and delaying the work. So far, the organization has started the work of clearing the rubble and repairing the damaged buildings, while simultaneously continuing to map the damages and pay compensation to property owners who were affected by the war. The daily claims that to date, Hizbullah has paid out a total of about $200 million in compensation to about 50,000 people affected by the war.[1]
The following are the main details mentioned in the Al-Akhbar article published on January 7, 2025:
The article asserts that, ''The project to repair the damages caused by the Israeli aggression has begun.'' At the same time, it said, the campaign to map the damages continues, in which, to date, 250 thousand residential units that were damaged in the war have already been mapped, and compensation has been paid for 20 percent of them. According to Al-Akhbar, the number of ''files'' of buildings mapped has grown quickly, to 6,000 files a day, and rumor has it that the scope of the compensation paid by Hizbullah so far is about $200 million. The paper asserts that the campaign is wholly managed by Hizbullah, while the state authorities are operating ''with great slowness.''
Al-Akhbar further stated that it is estimated that in the coming few days the total amount paid out in compensation will reach approximately $250 million, for 29 percent of the properties mapped by Hizbullah. The paper also noted that the compensation is paid via the Hizbullah-affiliated Al-Qard Al-Hasan Foundation, which has already reopened 28 of its 36 branches, most of which, it claims, were attacked by Israel during the war. Hussayn Khair Al-Din, the director of another Hizbullah-affiliated association called Jihad Al-Binaa,[2] told the daily that his association employs 963 engineers who are mapping 448 residential areas across Lebanon, with the assistance of 27 ''engineering centers'' and 18 data centers which employ 220 people. He estimates that the scope of the mapping will grow as the project expands to new areas, and notes that the mapping team has yet to reach the villages adjacent to the border with Israel.
The paper adds that alongside the mapping of the damages to buildings, the Jihad Al-Binaa association has been mapping – but not paying compensation for – the damages caused by the war to the agricultural sector in South Lebanon and in the Beqaa region in the east of the country. This is in addition to the mapping of financial damages caused to factories, to merchandise, and to vehicles, while also participating in the mapping of damages caused to public institutions in the country, although no compensation is being provided yet.
It is notable that in a speech he delivered on December 5, 2024, Hizbullah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said that Hizbullah would assist with the reconstruction efforts in Lebanon, and that it had decided to do so under the heading ''Promise and Commitment,'' because "Housing and reconstruction is a promise made by Sayyid [Hassan] Nasrallah and this is a commitment we will uphold."[3]
[1] January 7, 2025.
[2] Jihad Al-Binaa is a Hizbullah-owned construction company which has been on the U.S. terrorist list since 2007. According to the U.S. Treasury, it is funded directly by Iran and is subordinate to Hizbullah's Shura Council, headed by the organization's secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah.
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