Hezbollah pledges up to $14,000 per destroyed home; US says the money 'does not exist'

Ali Daamoush, head of Hezbollah's Executive Council, said on 13 October the group would pay families whose homes were destroyed or made uninhabitable in the war with Israel: $14,000 in Beirut and its southern suburbs and $12,000 elsewhere, including $8,000 for furniture, the Associated Press reported. He did not say how many families would benefit or the total cost.

The AP said the money most likely comes from Iran. US State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott told This is Beirut that "the money that Hezbollah is promising does not exist." Daamoush replied that Hezbollah is "not concerned" with what Washington says.

The 26 June framework agreement signed by Lebanon, Israel and the US aims to keep reconstruction funds away from non-state armed groups. More than 300,000 people remain displaced, according to the IOM.

Families who lost their homes deserve help. That help should come through the Lebanese state, transparently and for all Lebanese alike.