Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shi’ite militant group, has begun efforts to rebuild its military and financial infrastructure just over a week after a ceasefire with Israel went into effect, ending 13 and a half months of intense conflict.
Despite suffering significant losses during the war, Hezbollah has initiated steps to replenish its capabilities, including recruiting new fighters, ramping up domestic weapons production, and seeking ways to continue smuggling arms through Syria, according to U.S. and Israeli intelligence sources.
Though the ceasefire agreement signed on November 27 prohibits Hezbollah from rearming, the group’s resilience is evident. Despite losing more than half of its weapons stockpiles and thousands of fighters, Hezbollah remains operational.
U.S. officials estimate the group still possesses thousands of short-range rockets and is focused on rebuilding through weapons factories in neighbouring countries, utilising transportation routes into Lebanon.
One U.S. lawmaker stated that Hezbollah has been “temporarily weakened,” with its command-and-control capabilities impaired, but emphasised that the group is structured to endure disruption. Washington is especially concerned about Syria, where recent rebel offensives in Aleppo and Hama have posed significant challenges to the Assad regime and its allies, including Hezbollah and Iran. Israel continues to target Hezbollah’s smuggling routes in Syria and along the Syrian-Lebanon border, aiming to disrupt Iranian weapons shipments to the group.
U.S. officials have urged Syrian President Bashar Assad to restrict Hezbollah’s activities, with some regional countries, including the United Arab Emirates, considering lifting sanctions on Assad, contingent on halting the weapons supply to Hezbollah.
While Hezbollah officials maintain that their “resistance” against Israel will continue, reports from Lebanon suggest the group’s immediate focus is on rebuilding and restoring homes damaged by Israeli airstrikes in Southern Lebanon and Beirut.
In addition to military rebuilding, Hezbollah is focused on restoring its financial infrastructure. The group’s financial arm, Al-Qard al-Hassan, which suffered substantial damage during Israeli airstrikes on October 21, has resumed operations despite Israeli claims of its destruction. The bank plans to distribute $12,000 in housing grants to families affected by the war for rent and repairs.
A source close to Hezbollah confirmed the financial losses. Still, it noted that the rehabilitation funds would come from a $1 billion transfer from Iran to Hezbollah on the first day of the ceasefire, which will help with recovery efforts.
These rebuilding efforts illustrate Hezbollah’s resilience and its ongoing ability to sustain operations despite the severe blows it took during the war with Israel.
