Hezbollah vows to compensate owners of Lebanese homes destroyed in war with Israel

Hezbollah will pay up to $14,000 in aid to families whose homes in Lebanon were destroyed or made uninhabitable during the war with Israel, the head of the Iran-backed terror group’s Executive Council says.

At a news conference, Ali Daamoush accuses the Lebanese state of failing to carry out its duties to help the displaced.

He said families who lost their homes in Beirut and its southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, will receive $14,000 each, while those elsewhere in Lebanon will get $12,000. Each payment includes $8,000 for furniture, with the rest intended to cover rent.

Daamoush does not say how many families stand to benefit or how much the payments will total. The money will most likely come from Iran, which has supplied Hezbollah with billions of dollars and weapons over decades.

The initiative appears aimed at bolstering support among Hezbollah’s base and signaling defiance to the Lebanese government and the United States, which has sought to cut off Hezbollah’s funding.

The press conference was the group’s first on such payments since it instigated its latest two conflicts with Israel, which killed more than 8,000 people and destroyed tens of thousands of homes in Lebanon.

In recent years, the United States has increased its sanctions on individuals and institutions that Washington says Hezbollah uses to funnel money into Lebanon. Flights from Iran to Lebanon have been banned for nearly two years as part of efforts to pressure the group.

About 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon at the height of the most recent Israel-Hezbollah conflict. Most have returned home since the ceasefire, but more than 300,000 remain displaced, according to the International Organization for Migration.

A framework agreement signed by Lebanon, Israel and the United States in Washington on June 26 commits Lebanon and the US to preventing reconstruction funds from reaching entities or individuals affiliated with non-state armed groups and taking available legal measures to prohibit their activities. Hezbollah has rejected the agreement.