By Nohad Topalian | 2025-02-25

BEIRUT -- Residents of southern Lebanon have filed multiple lawsuits against Hizbullah, seeking compensation for damage to their lives and livelihoods resulting from the Iran-backed party's latest war with Israel.

They accuse the party of direct property destruction, and blame it for damage caused by the detonation of weapons depots concealed in residential areas.

Independent Southerners Front general coordinator Mahmoud Shuaib told Al-Fassel he filed a lawsuit against Hizbullah after his store in the southern town of Toul was vandalized and looted.

The store, in a security zone near Ghaleb Harb Hospital, was marked with the word "agent" before being emptied "by Hizbullah's decision," he said.

The lawsuit names several Hizbullah officials, including party chief Naim Qassem and his deputy, southern region head Ali Daoun.

Shuaib said he is preparing a second lawsuit against Hizbullah "for causing the war that destroyed the south and killed a large number of citizens."

The legal actions reflect growing resentment among residents of the south who discovered Hizbullah had stored weapons and ammunition beneath their homes without their knowledge.

When targeted by airstrikes, these munitions caused secondary explosions that amplified the destruction.

"This prompted citizens to ask why all these weapons were in residential areas," political writer Ali al-Amin told Al-Fassel.

Confronted with the damage its actions and decisions have inflicted on people's lives and properties, Hizbullah has offered only limited compensation, he said.

Open anger at Hizbullah

The lawsuits against Hizbullah are noteworthy as they express "objection and resentment from citizens who usually don't raise their voices," journalist and political activist Jad Yatim told Al-Fassel.

"This is something we haven't seen in previous years in a society governed by Hizbullah through security and militarization," he said.

The crisis has deepened as Al-Qard al-Hassan, Hizbullah's financial arm, suspends war damage compensation payments, according to the New Arab.

Al-Qard al-Hassan faces "severe liquidity shortages" and an inability to meet compensation payments, a source familiar with internal discussions told Asharq al-Awsat on January 29.

In response to mounting pressure, Qassem attempted to deflect responsibility in a February 16 televised speech, stating "it is the responsibility of the Lebanese state to work on reconstruction," per the National News Agency.

The return of southerners to their villages has only intensified resentment as they see for themselves the extent of destruction to their properties.

Many feel they were dragged into a war "they had nothing to do with and that achieved nothing but defeat," Yatim said.

"Citizens realized they can only rely on the state after Hizbullah -- which had boasted it wasn't afraid of war and promised to provide assistance during the conflict -- failed to deliver on those commitments," he said.