Al-Qard Al-Hasan, Hezbollah main funding source, resumes activities despite IDF strikes during war

Despite facing significant pressure and direct strikes from the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), the Al-Qard Al-Hasan Association, the financial backbone of Hezbollah, has demonstrated remarkable resilience by resuming its operations. Reports indicate that the association's branch in Beirut's Haret Khreik neighborhood is once again active, even after the IDF targeted approximately 30 of its locations. This persistence highlights the organization's deep entrenchment within Lebanon's financial and social fabric, allowing it to adapt and continue functioning even under intense military and economic duress.

The resumption of activities comes after Al-Qard Al-Hasan reportedly engaged with the Lebanese government to secure authorization to operate. This move follows a period where its operations were banned in Lebanon during the recent war between Hezbollah and Israel. The fact that the association is seeking and potentially receiving government accommodation, despite its controversial status and international sanctions, speaks to the complex power dynamics within Lebanon. The Lebanese state's position appears to be navigating a difficult path between international pressure, particularly from the United States, and the domestic influence wielded by Hezbollah.

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the policy of cutting corners and the fear of state institutions from Hezbollah have brought us to the current situation, in which the expansion of the association is damaging Lebanon's financial reputation.

From a Lebanese perspective, the continued operation of Al-Qard Al-Hasan, even with the Lebanese Central Bank having previously instructed commercial banks not to conduct transactions with it, is a complex issue. While Hezbollah claims the association is vital for providing funds to the public, critics, like lawyer Majid Harb, decry the state's perceived timidity in confronting Hezbollah's financial network. Harb argues that this 'cutting corners' approach damages Lebanon's financial reputation internationally. The situation underscores the ongoing struggle for financial sovereignty and the pervasive influence of non-state actors like Hezbollah on the national economy, a reality often misunderstood or oversimplified in international reporting.

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the association's activities did not stop at all during the war and were adapted to the situation through an alternative mechanism, out of the need to provide funds to the public.