In the picture: Hezbollah MPs Hussein Haj Hassan and Ali Miqdad visit displaced persons in Beirut’s Hadath area
Several areas of Lebanon are home to more than a million displaced Shiites from the southern suburbs of Beirut, southern Lebanon, and the Bekaa Valley. Some even chose to leave for Syria and Iraq.
During the first months of the war and until September 2024, Hezbollah operated various levels of assistance for the affected Shiite population, with an emphasis on the southern Lebanon region. For instance, Hezbollah directly provided thousands of dollars to southern Lebanon residents who had lost their homes and had no alternative residence, in addition to distributing diesel and other essential supplies. The intensification of the war, which began in September, impaired aid activity.
Simultaneously with its military reconstruction and influential-cognitive efforts, Hezbollah has recently demonstrated a renewed commitment to investing in civilian support for its displaced Shiite base. Senior Hezbollah officials relate extensively to the issue of displaced persons in Lebanon, and Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem also addresses the issue. These references are expressed in promises of compensation and rehabilitation, appeals for steadfastness, resilience and resistance and the initiation of limited material aid.
Hezbollah recently launched the “Samidoun” (“resilience” or “steadfastness”) program, aimed at providing material assistance to displaced Shi’ites. The purpose of this program is to collect data on the displaced persons and to manage the aid in a more orderly manner.
(See the link to register for the program).
The program provides financial assistance, food, and other supplies. The financial assistance ranges from $300 to $400 per family after signing up for the platform. Families displaced from their homes to coastal areas receive $300, while those who relocated to colder areas and require diesel fuel for heating receive $400.
Hezbollah operatives themselves also gain from these benefits, which they add to their monthly salary.
In the city of Beirut, for example, there are 154 centers that host about 11,000 displaced families from the south, the Bekaa Valley, and the southern Dahieh. This is in addition to the homes in which about 32,000 other families live. Numerous institutions and associations fund all of these.
The Social Unit, which operates under Hezbollah’s Executive Council, is the dominant entity responsible for dealing with the displaced Shi’ites. Abbas Yagi, in charge of the displacement file in Beirut, noted that the aid included, among other things, the distribution of about 90,000 food rations in displacement centers and Shiite homes.
With the onset of winter, the Social Unit has supplied 22,000 blankets on Mount Lebanon, distributed 48,530 blankets in displacement centers, and delivered 35,876 blankets to residences to date.
In addition to food and blankets, the assistance also includes general clothing, coats, mattresses, sheets, cooking gas, water, fuel, detergents, children’s milk substitutes, diapers, feminine hygiene, medicines, heating devices, and more.
Hezbollah officials are eager to constantly broadcast reassuring messages regarding rehabilitation, which is the biggest concern for families who have lost their homes. The World Bank report estimates the damage at about 100,000 housing units, ranging from total to partial destruction.
According to Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem, Hezbollah is preparing for a large-scale reconstruction process. Qassem stressed that “the houses that were demolished will return to being more beautiful than they were.” Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah said that “Hezbollah fulfills its role in dealing with the enemy, and our choice is to serve our people,” as he put it, stressing that “the reconstruction portfolio is about the alliance and the promise of resistance.”
Some of the reports also referred to Iran’s commitment to rehabilitate the Dahieh, southern Lebanon, and the Baalbek area in the Bekaa Valley. Senior Iranian officials made these commitments during recent visits to Beirut, according to the same reports.
Hezbollah understands that its military image, which has suffered severe damage, plays a crucial role in maintaining the cohesion of its base and preserving civilian life. Slogans such as “You are the high-headed ones who break the humiliation, and you are our promising future” and messages such as “Patience, retribution, and near victory” are difficult to instill even in a captive audience like Hezbollah’s Shiite base, which many of have lost all their possessions.
Indeed, the Shiite base is a captive audience because of its ideology, indoctrination, economic dependence on Hezbollah’s civilian infrastructure, and fear of Hezbollah’s security unit. However, all these factors require further reinforcement.
This reinforcement is manifested in a cognitive campaign aimed at establishing a picture of victory and glorifying Hezbollah’s achievements. This campaign does not stick to facts and reality, to say the least. In our assessment, this campaign will only intensify the day after the war, when the main motifs, messages, and narratives will be: Hezbollah won, Hezbollah’s joining the fight has proven itself, glorifying the resistance, highlighting the threat to Israel, and restoring operational control. The campaign is primarily aimed internally, i.e., a cognitive influence on its base, which has endured significant damage due to Hezbollah’s actions.
