A shell from Israeli artillery explodes over a house in al-Bustan, a Lebanese border village with Israel, south Lebanon, Oct. 15, 2023 (Credit: AFP)
BEIRUT — Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati responded to reports published by al-Akhbar on Wednesday claiming that his government would provide over $46 million in compensation to those affected by the fighting in southern Lebanon, saying in a statement published Friday that "everything that is being spread in this context is untrue, especially since everyone knows the limited capabilities."
“The Israeli aggression and destruction of homes and facilities in the South continue, and it is impossible, under these circumstances, to take any step to count and determine the damage or its cost," Mikati's statement reads.
Instead, Mikati tried to redirect focus toward his government's diplomatic efforts, reiterating that Lebanon is "maintaining its diplomatic contacts internationally and in the Arab world to stop the Israeli aggression against Lebanon,” and claiming that “the results of these contacts so far appear to be positive.”
On Wednesday, al-Akhbar cited an anonymous source who'd spoken to Mikati about a compensation plan of "$20,000 for each family who lost a member" and "$40,000 for every completely destroyed residential unit," in the more than five months of cross-border fighting between Hezbollah and Israel.
90,000 people have been displaced from border villages since the exchange of fire between Hezbollah and Israel started. The news was controversial as it raised questions regarding where the funds would come from.
The current conflict in southern Lebanon began on Oct. 8, 2023, following the outbreak of war in Gaza on Oct. 7, which was in turn sparked by Hamas' al-Aqsa Flood Operation in southern Israel.
Israel has repeatedly threatened to go into a full-scale war in Lebanon if Hezbollah is not pushed away from Lebanon’s southern border.
“The government, since the start of the Israeli aggression, has formed an emergency committee to follow up on the situation of the south and the southerners, and it is continuing its work to provide the necessary assistance to the displaced from their villages, according to the available capabilities. In a parallel line, it is following up on the steps required to confront it,” Mikati's statement said.
"The Lebanese government, which is barely able to provide basic needs, is striving in parallel to secure the minimum required support for the displaced from the villages of the south.”
Hezbollah is active in near-daily fighting with Israel, conducting what Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah calls a support front along the Lebanese-Israeli borders, to detract Israeli resources from its army's operations in Gaza.
Since Oct. 7, Israel's war in Gaza has killed more than 32,000 people.