Hezbollah Secretary-General: $77 Million to be Distributed to Lebanese Households with Iranian Support

The Secretary-General of Hezbollah Lebanon stated that with financial assistance primarily from Iran, each household whose home has been completely destroyed in Beirut will receive a total of "$14,000." Naim Qassem said in a televised speech on Thursday night, December 6, that this militant group will pay "$8,000" for the reconstruction of each completely destroyed house and "$6,000" for one year of rent to residents of Beirut, while residents of other Lebanese cities will receive "$4,000." Naim Qassem mentioned that Hezbollah has already provided $50 million in aid to affected Lebanese families. He also thanked Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, the government of Massoud Pezeshkian, and the Revolutionary Guards for financing these amounts for Hezbollah, stating: "Payments between $300 and $400 for each person, if paid to all 233,500 registered families, will amount to over $77 million." The reciprocal attacks between Israel and Hezbollah have left at least 9 dead in Lebanon. Hezbollah is both a militant group and a political party that controls a large part of southern Lebanon. In his speech, the Secretary-General also thanked the Iraqi government, Shia clerics in that country, and the Hashd al-Shaabi group, affiliated with the Islamic Republic, for their financial support to Hezbollah. The United States designates Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, while the European Union has placed its military wing on the blacklist but does not consider its political wing as terrorist. The political party Hezbollah also has representatives in the Lebanese parliament. Naim Qassem announced that this Lebanese militant group, which is an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, will "stand by Damascus." He condemned groups that "aim to overthrow the regime in Syria," adding: "They cannot achieve their goals, despite what they have done in recent days. As Hezbollah, we will stand with Syria to neutralize the objectives of this aggression as much as we can." With the start of a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah Lebanon, facilitated by the United States and France, tens of thousands of Lebanese refugees began returning to their homes. The ceasefire was implemented at 4 AM local time on Wednesday, December 6, ending approximately 14 months of war between the Israeli army and Hezbollah Lebanon, a conflict that resulted in thousands of deaths. Hezbollah suffered heavy casualties and losses in this war, including the loss of its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in Israeli army attacks. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, this war, which began last October following the Gaza war, has resulted in the deaths of at least 3,768 people in Lebanon.