Hezbollah’s Civilian Infrastructure: A Cornerstone for Military Resilience and Community Support

The scope and intensity of Hezbollah’s civilian activities serve as a litmus test for its condition and the success of its rehabilitation. Hezbollah’s civilian infrastructure, which addresses the needs of the Shiite base (“the resistance society”) in all aspects of life, enables Hezbollah’s existence and the operations of its military infrastructure. The success of Hezbollah’s military rehabilitation depends on the functioning of its civilian infrastructure. This civilian infrastructure creates a direct connection with the base population through its civilian activities. This direct connection fosters dependency and support, which in turn enables Hezbollah’s operational freedom. Hezbollah invests significant thought and resources in creating enabling conditions, which are manifested after ceasefires through proactive, extensive, and accelerated activities in social, economic, health, educational, and other fields in Shiite communities in Lebanon. Over the past week, Hezbollah held another sports tournament in the town of Bnaafoul, this time in soccer, with the first-place team named “Martyr Commander Ibrahim Aqil (Abu Abd al-Qadir)”—after a member of the Jihad Council and operations commander eliminated on September 20, 2024—and the second-place team named “Martyr Commander Ali Karaki (Abu al-Fadl)”—after a member of the Jihad Council and southern front commander eliminated on September 27, 2024. Additionally, Hezbollah’s education unit opened educational service centers in the Sidon area for the start of the academic year, offering school supplies, book-lending libraries, academic study counseling, and registration offices for academic and professional scholarships.