The Hezbollah leadership has announced that its financial association, Al-Qard Al-Hasan, has resumed its operations by initiating a survey to repair homes damaged in Israeli airstrikes, restore them, and provide housing allowances for partially destroyed residences.
According to the announcement, “114 engineering teams have been deployed across Lebanon’s Bekaa region to assess damage, estimate costs, and distribute compensation.”
However, a legal source highlighted that this activity “violates Lebanese law, as the institution is unlicensed and operates without supervision from the Central Bank of Lebanon.”
The announcement about the resumption of Al-Qard Al-Hasan’s operations, often referred to as Hezbollah’s “central bank,” contradicts Israeli claims that the institution had been destroyed during airstrikes targeting its offices and financial hubs across Lebanon.
The most recent airstrikes targeted the association’s offices in Beirut neighborhoods such as Hamra, Zoqaq Al-Blat, and Noueiri on the night of November 26, hours before a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah came into effect.
Al-Qard Al-Hasan, which serves as Hezbollah’s financial backbone, was established after the party was placed under international sanctions and barred from holding accounts in Lebanese commercial banks. It collects funds from its support base and offers loans against collateral such as jewelry.
“Al-Qard Al-Hasan’s operations continued uninterrupted even during the height of the war, with the party providing assistance to displaced individuals using its own resources,” a source close to Hezbollah said.
The source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the institution “will finance the restoration of fully or partially damaged homes and continue to provide rental allowances and financial aid to families unable to return to their destroyed residences. This definitively debunks Israeli claims that Hezbollah’s financial infrastructure was dismantled.”
The source added that the institution’s funds—whether in cash, jewelry, or other assets—were safeguarded in secure locations far from danger.
On October 20, Israeli warplanes launched 15 airstrikes in a single hour, targeting Al-Qard Al-Hasan’s buildings and offices in Beirut’s southern suburbs, the Bekaa Valley, and South Lebanon. Three offices in Beirut were initially spared but were later destroyed on November 26, hours before the ceasefire came into force.
According to the Hezbollah-affiliated source, “while Israel did destroy several Al-Qard Al-Hasan branches, it failed to harm the institution’s assets, which are stored in secure locations.”
Reports about Hezbollah’s financial stability vary. A source familiar with the party’s situation revealed that Hezbollah’s cash reserves were significantly impacted during the war, with Israeli strikes destroying large sums of money and jewelry stored in Al-Qard Al-Hasan facilities. The party’s hidden reserves of cash and gold also suffered considerable damage.
The source told Asharq Al-Awsat that reconstruction and compensation funds are “not sourced from Al-Qard Al-Hasan but are Iranian funds recently delivered to Hezbollah.” The source claimed that “on the first day of the ceasefire, Iran transferred $1 billion to the party through a regional intermediary. This money is being used to assess damages, compensate owners of partially damaged homes for repairs, and provide aid to families whose homes were completely destroyed and remain in shelters.”
Despite concerns that Al-Qard Al-Hasan’s activities might violate the ceasefire agreement, Dr. Paul Morcos, a legal expert and president of the Justicia legal foundation, argued that the association’s financial activities do not constitute a direct violation of the deal, as long as its operations are not connected to wartime activities. He noted that reopening several branches might be Hezbollah’s way of “reassuring depositors about the safety of their gold and assets while potentially reactivating its financial resources.”
However, Morcos told Asharq Al-Awsat that “this step remains largely symbolic unless citizens can fully reclaim their deposits in the foreseeable future.” Legally, the status of Al-Qard Al-Hasan remains unchanged, as it is “not licensed by Lebanon’s monetary or financial regulatory authorities to carry out such financial activities.” He explained that, regardless of the association’s social or religious motives, such financial operations must be “restricted to institutions registered with the Central Bank of Lebanon and the Capital Markets Authority.”
