Hezbollah has paid out more than $50 million in cash gifts to families affected by conflict with Israel, its leader Naim Qassem has said, as the group seeks to shore up its support base, Reuters reports.

The payments of between $300 and $400 per person will total more than $77m when paid out to all 233,500 families who registered, Qassem said in a recorded speech, thanking Iran for its financing of the effort alongside Hezbollah.

Hezbollah will also provide a lump sum of $8,000 to those whose primary homes were destroyed in the conflict, and $6,000 for a year of rent for those living in Beirut or its suburbs and $4,000 for those living outside the capital until they can move back home, he said. The payments would be financed mainly by Iran, he said.

The World Bank says nearly 100,000 homes in Lebanon were partially or fully damaged during the conflict, amounting to $3.2 billion in damages and losses.

Read more here.

 Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem delivers an address from an unknown location on Nov 29, 2024, in this still image from a video. — Al Manar TV via Reuters TV
Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem delivers an address from an unknown location on Nov 29, 2024, in this still image from a video. — Al Manar TV via Reuters TV

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