Despite reports of a reduction or even suspension of activities by the Al-Qard al-Hasan institution due to economic difficulties and internal and international pressures, the organization announced on 6 February the resumption of temporary housing payments to families whose homes were destroyed in the war. The payments will be transferred through Hezbollah’s civilian mechanisms, foremost among them the “Jihad al-Binaa” organization. According to sources identified with Al-Qard al-Hasan, the move is intended to compensate for the failures of the Lebanese government, which they claim has repeatedly postponed handling reconstruction, leading to delays in the return of approximately 7,000 families to their homes in the Dahiyeh area alone. It was further reported that the cost of rehabilitating around 490 buildings that sustained structural damage is estimated at approximately $37 million. At the same time, it was stated that through the Al-Qard al-Hasan institution, more than 5,400 payment vouchers are expected to be disbursed in February in the Beirut area alone. Hezbollah’s economic and civilian activity, at the core of which stands Al-Qard al-Hasan, enables the organization on the one hand to preserve and strengthen the dependence and support of its Shiite base, and on the other hand to undermine the authority of the Lebanese government and portray it as having failed in Lebanon’s reconstruction and in providing the necessary services to the Shiite population. For the Shiite base, there is no alternative to Hezbollah’s economic and social assistance, and for Hezbollah, there can be no military rehabilitation without civilian reconstruction.
