Hezbollah has yet to pay out compensation for damage to homes in southern Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs during its latest war with Israel, according to residents, suggesting the Tehran-backed group might be feeling the impact of the war in Iran and a crackdown on its funding networks.
Haidar, whose family's home in Blatt, a village just outside Israel's 7km deep “security zone” along the southern border, was destroyed in the renewed fighting that began in March, said they had received no financial compensation to rebuild but that this was probably “because we expect a … wave of fighting to start soon”.
Despite the lack of financial assistance, Haidar left his parents in the suburbs of Beirut and returned to Blatt, which is partially destroyed and lacking basic infrastructure. “We’re all trying to get as much of our village as we can, getting our fill of it before things get worse,” he said.
Like other residents who spoke to The National, he asked to be identified only by his first name out of fear of a backlash from his community.
After the previous war between Israel and Hezbollah that ended in November 2024, some residents whose homes were destroyed or damaged were able to claim up to $14,000 over the space of a year to cover rent and damaged possessions. Hezbollah secretary general Naim Qassem admitted that the majority of those funds had come from Iran.
This time, however, the payment process appears to be facing difficulties, even though active fighting has been paused since a precarious US-brokered framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon was signed in June. While the delay in the south could be explained by the unstable situation there, this is not the case in Beirut's southern suburbs.
“They haven’t even opened up the registration process for us to receive financial compensation,” said Mohammad, a resident of the area whose home and businesses were badly damaged in the war.
Another resident, Hussein, said Hezbollah was still providing social services such as food assistance and low-cost health care, but “they’re prioritising it so that their own people are receiving most services: those who follow their doctrine, or families of fighters”.
A resident of the Haret Hreik suburb, who is staying in nearby Jnah after their home was partially destroyed, said that instead of one year, they received only six months of rent support – about $3,000 – following the 2024 war.
The National contacted Hezbollah for comment but did not receive a response before publication.
Years of pressure
Before the recent war, Iran’s funding to Hezbollah was about $700 million a year, according to US State Department estimates.
As part of its campaign, Israel attacked Hezbollah’s financial infrastructure, striking branches of Al Qard Al Hassan, the group’s quasi-banking institution, as well as businesses accused of generating revenue for it, including exchange houses, petrol stations and garages.
The campaign has added to years of US financial pressure on Hezbollah, with Washington imposing sanctions on companies and individuals it accuses of funnelling money to the group or operating commercial ventures on its behalf.
In March, the US Treasury said one such network had diverted more than $100 million through businesses spanning Lebanon, Syria and several other countries.
Hezbollah has also been accused of benefiting from the Captagon trade that flourished under Bashar Al Assad’s government in Syria. Washington has said the multibillion-dollar drug trade boosted the Assad regime and its allies, including the militant group.
But the fall of Mr Al Assad and the subsequent crackdown by Syria’s new authorities dismantled much of the infrastructure that had made the country the regional centre for Captagon production and trafficking, disrupting another source of illicit revenue associated with the group.
The flow of support to Hezbollah from Iran through Iraq and Syria was severely affected by the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024. The US-Israel war on Iran since March will also have had a severe impact.
Airport crackdown
However, several sources in Lebanon also point to a clampdown on potential funding flowing through Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport over the past year, following intense US pressure.
Customs checks on arrivals have become more stringent, with officers asking travellers where they have come from and checking for proof. Luggage scanners have also been upgraded, according to sources.
In addition, “every officer or security member who is suspected of being close to Hezbollah or facilitating any Hezbollah-related activities is being removed”, a senior security official said. This was “mainly a US request in exchange for preserving the airport from any Israeli strikes” during the bombing of the nearby southern Beirut suburbs earlier this year, added the official, who did not want to be identified.
In March last year, Fadi Al Hassan, the civil aviation director and acting Beirut airport chief, was dismissed. He was allegedly close to Hezbollah. His civil aviation role was taken over by Mohammad Aziz, a former pilot for flag carrier Middle East Airlines and a senior adviser to the airline's chairman, Mohamed Al Hout.
Other civilian staff have also been dismissed, including porters whose work is “very critical” and can assist smuggling, the security source said.
Another senior non-military source familiar with the airport's operations said efforts to upgrade security had definitely improved “especially during the last war to maintain the neutrality of the airport”.
“We have to prove to people that the airport is safe and secure for operations,” he said. “This is why you see a lot of checking and so on. That’s what you see. There are also things that you don’t see.”
Security officials said the main focus of screening was for cash, drone components, drugs and firearms. While rules limiting how much money passengers can carry were not new, the enforcement of them was.
The laws “were in place, but they weren’t, let’s say, applied in a very stringent way”, said the non-security source. “Now, they’ve been applied since last year,” the source added.
Asked if this was specifically an effort to counter smuggling for Hezbollah, the source said: “It’s Hezbollah, it’s any other organisation. It’s the law.”
The security official said huge quantities of money had been seized over the past year. “Millions of dollars have been confiscated at the airport, and gold, heavy weights of gold, that were smuggled from Turkey and African countries.”
There was a particular focus on flights arriving from Iraq, Turkey, or Africa, or those originating in South America that transit in a third country.
“Lots of people bring money with them – huge quantities,” said the civilian official.
“You can travel with $200,000 if you want, but then you have to declare it. If you are a Lebanese who was working abroad, then you have to show this is hard-earned, not stolen money, drug money, money laundering or money to finance anything that is illegal. So you have to prove it. Why should you carry so much money?”
