While Hezbollah has been intensifying its attacks on Israel over the course of this past month, Hezbollah has also launched a mass mobilization effort on social media to solicit funds for weapons and terrorist activities.
The campaign was launched by Hezbollah’s Resistance Support Authority, Hezbollah’s fundraising arm which is subject to US sanctions. The authority, founded in 1989, operates under Bayt al-Amal (Hezbollah’s investment arm and loan bank, which serves as Hezbollah’s “treasury”). They operate under the Jihadi Financial Unit (Unit 104), which oversees all of Hezbollah’s revenues and is responsible for managing and controlling the budget of all Hezbollah units. The financial unit is headed by Ibrahim Ali Chaher (Hajj Jihad). The financial unit operates under Hezbollah’s Executive Council.
This isn’t the first fundraising campaign they’re launching. The Resistance Support Authority regularly publishes via Hezbollah’s Al-Manar channel. It offers a variety of donation tracks for Hezbollah: monthly donations, donations to the families of shaheeds, direct donations to military operatives, direct donations for weapons, etc.
Hezbollah’s fundraising is not new, and does not necessarily indicate Hezbollah’s financial difficulties as a result of the war. The fundraising is a complement to the Iranian budget, is a means of propaganda for Hezbollah, enables active contact with the Shi’ite base in Lebanon and Shiite communities around the world, and creates commitment and identification with the resistance.
