Hezbollah has issued internal directives for its operatives who do not live south of the Litani River in Lebanon to vacate the area, The Wall Street Journal said in a report published on Monday.
The party has also temporarily suspended payments for compensation checks to those affected by Israel's war on Lebanon, it revealed.
The decisions come as Hezbollah announced the suspension of its military activities pending the outcome of diplomatic efforts currently initiated by the Lebanese state to secure a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory, and to stop air and ground violations.
The Wall Street Journal said the damage inflicted by Israel on Hezbollah is becoming clear: its military abilities have been severely degraded and its finances are strained to the point that it is struggling to meet its commitments to followers.
But the spiraling bill from its latest war is making many of those payments impossible, it explained.
WSJ added, citing residents, that the group’s primary financial institution Al-Qard Al-Hassan has recently “frozen payments for compensation checks that had already been issued.”
It said Hezbollah-run committees have evaluated hundreds of thousands of damaged homes and the group has issued $630 million in payments to people for loss or damage to their homes, according to an official at Al-Qard Al-Hassan.
It also said the party has temporarily frozen compensation payments for its supporters and those affected, but not for party members and operatives.
A person close to Hezbollah told the Journal that an internal memo was distributed to its combat units, ordering fighters who were not originally from areas south of the Litani River in southern Lebanon to vacate their positions, and that Lebanese army troops would be allowed to take control of the area in accordance with the ceasefire.
“The party has suffered heavy losses,” the person said, with some military units completely dismantled. But Hezbollah has partially replenished its ranks with fighters who had been stationed in Syria, the person added, with some restructured units ready for any resumption of fighting. “The group has been weakened, but it is not defeated,” he stated.
Hezbollah’s new secretary-general, Sheikh Naim Qassem, has repeatedly emphasized the party's military readiness, asserting that the resistance remains strong in manpower and weaponry. However, he said United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 only relates to Hezbollah’s weapons south of the Litani River and not its north.
Qassem suggested that his party's weapons in northern Lebanon be discussed by the Lebanese state and various political forces as part of a defensive strategy.
