With food and fuel, Hezbollah backs worst in Lebanon collapse

Lebanon-Hezbollah has been preparing for a total collapse of the devastating state, issuing ration cards for food, importing medicines and storing fuel from its protector Iran, three sources familiar with the plans told Reuters .

The move, which is responding to a severe economic crisis, is an extension of the services the armed movement is providing to its large Sh’ite support base, with a network already boasting charities, a construction firm and a pension system .

The plan is full of concern in Lebanon that people will have to rely on political factions for food and security, just as many did in the militia days of the 1975-1990 civil war.

In response to a question about Hezbollah’s plans, Leila Hatoum, an adviser to the prime minister, said the country was “in no position to refuse aid”, regardless of politics.

The sources from the pro-Hezbollah camp, who did not want to be named, said that the plan for a possible scenario has accelerated in the worst case as an end to subsidies in the coming months, which frightens hunger and unrest increase.

Lebanon’s currency has collapsed as the dollar’s dollar runs out, and no state rescue is in sight. Food prices rose by 400%.

Fights in supermarkets are commonplace these days, just like people rummaging through the rubbish. An altercation over food parcels this week killed one person and injured two others.

Hezbollah’s plan will help protect its communities – not just members but also predominantly Shiite residents of districts it dominates – from the worst of the crisis, the sources said. It could also contain any unrest among core supporters, analysts say.

Hezbollah, which has a majority in parliament and government with its allies, did not respond to a request for comment.

“Preparations have begun for the next phase … It is indeed an economic battle plan,” said one of the sources, a senior official.

EXTENDED NETWORK

The new ration card, seen by Reuters, is already helping hundreds of people buy basic goods in the local currency – largely Iranian, Lebanese and Syrian cheaper items at a discount of up to 40%, subsidized by the party, the sources said.

The map – named after a Shiite imam – can be used at cooperatives, some of which have just opened, in the southern suburbs of Beirut and parts of southern Lebanon where Hezbollah rules. The sources did not elaborate on the budget or recipients.

An Iran-funded paramilitary force that critics once called a “state within a state” has made Hezbollah more entangled in Lebanese state affairs in recent years.

Washington, which sees Hezbollah as a terrorist group, has pushed up sanctions to ward off its funding sources, including what it estimates hundreds of millions of dollars from Tehran each year.

Iranian funding holds Hezbollah down better than many in the country’s mosaic of parties, including those opposed to its arsenal. Some factions have issued aid baskets to their protection communities, but the network backed by Iran remains extraordinarily large in comparison.

“They do it all … But Hezbollah’s scope is much larger and more powerful, with more means to deal with the crisis,” said Joseph Daher, a researcher who wrote a book on Hezbollah’s political economy. , said. “It’s more about limiting the catastrophe for its popular base. It means increasing dependence on Hezbollah in particular.”

And although Hezbollah provides ration cards, the state, held back by decades of graffiti and guilt, has been touting the idea of ​​such a card for poor Lebanese for almost a year without acting.

Ministers said the need for parliamentary approval nullified the cabinet’s map plan.

DARKNESS AND HUNGRY

Pictures on social media of shelves with canned goods, according to reports from one of Hezbollah’s cooperatives, spread across Lebanon last week.

Fatima Hamoud, in her fifties, said the ration card allows her to buy pellets, oil and cleaning products for a household of eight once a month. “They know we’re bad,” she said. “Without them, what would we have done in these difficult times?”

A second Shiite source said Hezbollah had filled warehouses and launched the maps to expand services outside the party and stop gaps in the Lebanese market, where cheap alternatives are more common than before the crisis.

He said the card provides a quota, based on family size, for needs such as sugar and flour.

The goods are backed by Hezbollah, imported by allied companies or imported without customs duties through the border with Syria, where Hezbollah forces have had a foundation since joining the war to support Damascus alongside Iran.

The source added that Hezbollah had similar plans for importing medicines. Some pharmacists in the southern suburbs of Beirut have said they have received training on new Iranian and Syrian brands in recent months.

Two of the sources said that the storage of fuel from Iran was included, as the Ministry of Energy in Lebanon warns of a possible total eclipse. The senior official said Hezbollah is clearing up storage space for fuel in the next by Syria.

“If we get to a stage of darkness and hunger, you will find that Hezbollah is going to its backup option … and that is a serious decision. Then Hezbollah will fill in for the state,” the senior official said. “When it comes down to it, the party would have taken precaution to prevent a gap.”