
A neighborhood in the southern suburbs of Beirut in ruins, Nov. 27, 2024. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/OLJ)
The Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar, politically aligned to Hezbollah, reported that the party had already given $400 million to 140,000 people affected by Israeli bombings, which destroyed entire areas in southern Lebanon, the Bekaa and the southern suburbs of Beirut during more than 15 months of clashes between the two sides.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, the newspaper specified that these amounts were likely paid to the beneficiaries within 55 days, presumably following the cease-fire that came into effect on Nov. 27. The sources mention a 10-day period to validate the files, "from damage assessment to payment."
According to several anonymous witnesses contacted by L'Orient-Le Jour and residing in Beirut, the party had started paying the first settlements within two weeks of the cease-fire.
The daily notes an average amount of $2,860 per file, capped at $14,000, "depending on the extent of damage to buildings and homes." It specifies that this amount does not include reconstruction.
These settlements normally included a housing component for those forced to flee the bombings and another for furnishing, according to information that circulated over the past two months. Al-Akhbar adds that some files require longer processing times depending on the level of destruction of the homes.
It also notes that Hezbollah's Jihad al-Bina foundation and Qard al-Hassan, the party's microfinance organization, among other involved actors, seek to "accelerate the process of damage assessment, cost evaluation and payment."
According to a report published by Jihad al-Bina, the total number of housing units recorded as of Jan. 20, 2025, is 268,317 in 448 villages and towns, thanks to the work of a team of 466 engineers, as well as 149 employees in charge of electronically entering declarations.
In November, before the cease-fire came into effect, Jihad al-Bina estimated that more than 45,000 homes had been destroyed in the southern suburbs of Beirut alone between Oct. 8, 2023, and the end of October 2024, assessing the damage cost at more than $630 million.
Also in November, the World Bank estimated the cost of Israeli destruction at more than $3 billion as of the end of October 2024. More than 4,000 people were killed in Lebanon by Israeli strikes, which began following the outbreak of the Gaza war. The cease-fire was accompanied by a two-month period to implement its terms, supervised by an ad hoc committee. This period expires Sunday night, but Israel is attempting to obtain an extension from the United States.